MatsuxReader Mutual Killing Game: Mononeko Mall!
by TheCheeseCat
Summary: You've woken up in what looks like an abandoned mall, only to find that you and 14 other people have been selected to participate in a mutual killing game by a cat named Mononeko. With the help of six identical brothers and a cast of others, will you be able to make it out of this place in one piece?
1. Introducing Mononeko!

**Author's Note:** This story is also being submitted on my deviantART and has more in-depth information for each chapter. Go ahead and give it a look there too! Rated Teen for now until things get pretty bad, then will be marked as Mature.

* * *

It felt like you had been asleep for ages, but when your eyes finally opened, your eyes had to adjust to the darkness of the area around you. Vision blurred, focused in and out, until finally you found the strength to sit up. Your head was pounding with a head ache, and you brought one hand up to press the heel of it to your temple. If you applied a little pressure to it, it might stop, right? You couldn't remember anything that had happened before now, which was strange considering you had a pretty good memory. So why were you here? You looked around, taking in your surroundings and started to figure out where you were. There were stores that were gated off, a long hall that they sat along and if you peered hard enough, you could see a fountain at the end of the hall.

Was this . . . a mall?

"Engh . . . where is this?" You muttered to yourself, slowly picking yourself up to a stand. You managed to maintain balance, but it was almost lost when the lights of the hall started to click on one after another. "Woah!"

"ATTENTION SHOPPERS!" a sudden, jarring voice called out over an intercom system. "It's time to wake up and mosey on down to the food court! You're probably all wondering why you're in this fine establishment! Worry not, everything will be explained once you've gathered in the designated area! Better skedaddle if you don't wanna miss these LIFE SAVING bargains!"

What the heck was that about? You looked around you to see the now lit up hallway, and soon enough your feet were carrying you towards the food court. At least it looked a little more lively around here, despite you not seeing anyone else around. However that was soon to change, as approaching the court, you started to see some people as well.

"Oh, thank goodness! I thought I was the only one here!" you called out, waving a hand in the air as you rushed up to try and get their attention. Turning around, the person acknowledged you by coming to a stop and pushing their hands into the pocket of their red hoodie.

"Huh? Oh, guess they really meant other people were here." he spoke, grin on his face. You caught up with him, smiling a little and letting out a small sigh before introducing yourself and explaining what had happened to you. As if he wanted to hear all of that.

"Matsuno Osomatsu is my name." he said with a smile and he pulled one hand from his pocket to run his finger under his nose. "You just woke up here too? Wonder what this is all about."

"I don't know." you spoke with bemuse. "This doesn't look like any mall I've ever been to-"

"BURAZAS!" Another voice picked up the silence, causing you to look around to try and find the source. You caught sight of someone who . . . looked a lot like Osomatsu, but he was wearing a blue hoodie instead. He was rushing as fast as he could towards the two of you.

"Who-"

"Don't mind him, that's just Karamatsu." said Osomatsu, looking off in another direction. Karamatsu caught up to you, letting out puffs of air as he tried to catch his breath.

"Kara . . . matsu?" You looked back and forth between the two of them. They looked almost exactly the same! "Eh? . . . EH?!"

Karamatsu stood upright suddenly like he wasn't gasping for breath a few moments ago and suddenly he had a pair of shades over his eyes and a smile on his face.

"To be trapped in a place like this with someone who already knows my name? Surely fate is dealing me a winning hand, heh- UNK!"

You shrieked out a moment when he hit the floor, quickly looking up to see . . . another person that looked like Osomatsu, but he wore purple, his hair was a bit messy and his eyes looked like he was constantly tired.

"Shut up, Shittymatsu." the man grumbled out, knuckles cracking as he stepped over the fallen body.

"Should we . . . help. . ." you began.

"Just leave him, he'll be alright." said Osomatsu, not even making a second glance back at his brother.

You stopped walking for a moment as the two others went on, and ended up back tracking to Karamatsu, kneeling down beside him and tried to help him get to his feet.

"Are you okay?" you asked, bringing him to his feet. Karamatsu stared down at the scratched lens of his shades before looking towards you with a expression of confusion.

"Ah . . . yeah." he answered, like he was unsure if that was the answer he was supposed to be giving you.

"Come on, we don't want to fall behind." you spoke, and without even thinking, you took hold of his hand and started to drag him along behind you, making him even more confused. Eventually you two had caught up to everyone else, looking around the food court, there were actually a few people, fifteen, including you. There appeared to be three more guys that looked like Osomatsu, and at this point it was safe to assume that they had to be related. You released Karamatsu's hand to leave him in his stupor while you moved towards Osomatsu once again.

"Hey, are . . . you guys cousins or something? You all look alike." you pointed out. Osomatsu looked at you before letting out a slight laugh.

"We're all brothers, sextuplets!"

"Sextuplets?! I've never even seen any in real life before!" you chatted excitedly, the six of them gathering together like they were meant to be that way.

"Osomatsu!"  
"Karamatsu!"  
"Ah, Choromatsu." the man in green spoke.

"Ichimatsu. . ." said the one in purple.

"Jyushimatsu!" said the yellow hoodied one.

"Todomatsu!" the final brother in pink called out.

"Oh wow, you're all named a different variation of Matsu! That's clever!" You chimed in, only to get a slightly disturbing stare from the six of them.

"That's not clever at all." said Todomatsu, a slight look of annoyance on his face.

"OSOMATSU!" Another person yelled out, this time a brown haired woman with short, low hanging pigtails and a bun on her head. She was rushing towards them, the click of her heels coming to a stop once she was close to the brothers.

"Totoko! You're here too?" said Osomatsu, turning to face her. His eyes lifted to scan the food court now that everyone was actually here. Chibita, Dayon, Iyami, Hatabo, Dekapan, it was like everyone was here! The only person no one really recognized was you.

"SHEEH! WHAT IS ME EVEN DOING HERE? ME DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THIS!" Iyami piped out.

"Nobody knows why they're here, ya idjit!" Chibita grunted out, arms crossed and foot tapping on the floor. "I'm sure we're about to find out soon if whoever that was over the intercom had us gathering here."

Everyone else started to murmur and talk among themselves, causing you to take in just who else was here. Besides the ones that had already spoke, you could see another girl with pink hair and cat ears and a really short man with round eyes and long mustache. As everyone was chatting away, you cleared your throat, trying to get the attention of the group. You figured everyone should introduce themselves, if they didn't know each other already.

"Everyone!" You called out, causing everyone to turn to face you. You started by introducing yourself again, before eventually everyone else did too. The girl with pink hair and cat ears called herself "Nyaa Hashimoto, to which Choromatsu waved from the crowd and called out her name again. The short man introduced himself as Shounosuke, while another man with a wide mouth shouted "DAYON" which he seemed to add at the end of most of his sentences. The large man with beady eyes, balding head and pants pulled up to his chest was called Dekapan, while the tall man in a purple suit muttered out "Iyami" and the short man with only one hair and lines on his cheeks called himself Chibita.

"I'm Yowai Totoko." the girl from before spoke up, eyes closed and a hand over her chest as she spoke. "I guess none of us really know why we're here, huh?"

"Not . . . really." you said with a nervous smile to your face. You were about to say something else, but there was a sudden disturbance from behind the group. The sound of a mic turning on and- oh, was that stage with a podium there before? There was so rumbling, before something fell from the ceiling, making a large crash. The group stepped back to stare with wide eyes, watching as something pulled it's self up from the small pile of debris.

"Seesh, what a landing!" Pulling themselves up to the podium, something that almost looked like a plush cat stood tall, one half of it was white and had a rather cute expression, while the other side was black and was a bit more menacing looking.

". . . Is that a cat?" Osomatsu said, eyes squinting as if it would help him see better.

"You bet your behind I am!" The cat called out, arms up at his sides. "Allow me to introduce myself, I'm MONONEKO!"

"Mononeko?" said Totoko, arms crossed over her chest. "That's a stupid name."

"Well no one asked your opinion, fish girl.~" Mononeko leaned forward and waved a paw in a bit of a scolding manner. "Close your legs and maybe you wouldn't stink so bad!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" she snapped out, causing both Choromatsu and Karamatsu to hold her back.

You grimaced a little before slowly raising your hand before you spoke. "Excuse me, Mr. Mononeko? Why . . . why are we all here?"

"Mr. Mononeko?" said the cat. "Oh I like you already! Very polite! You should all take an example from this one! As to why you're here? I was just getting to that!"

Mononeko clapped his paws together as a backdrop screen fell from behind him. A banner that looked like it had been drawn in crayon, it had hand drawn Mononeko heads around it while the words "WELCOME TO MONONEKO MALL! THE MUTUAL KILLING GAME!" had been carefully written on it. As you read over the words, it felt like your heart had suddenly dropped into the pit of your stomach.

"M-Mutual . . . killing game?!" you shouted out.

"THAT'S RIGHT." the cat returned the shout. "Isn't it neat? We're gonna have a blast!"

"What the hell do you mean, 'Mutual Killing Game', ya idjit!" shouted Chibita.

"Allow me to go over the rules!" Mononeko smacked his paw back towards the banner, and another fell into place over the first one. "Here goes!"

"There are 15 of you gathered here! All of you are inside the glorious MONONEKO MALL, to which if you want to leave, you'll have to kill each other! HAHAHA! But it's not as simple as that, otherwise it wouldn't be as fun!"

It seemed like Ichimatsu wasn't waisting any time, since he was already raising a chair from the food court over his head to try and smash it over Karamatsu's head. However Todomatsu reached to try and stop him.

"I-Ichimatsu nii-san!"

"If you wanna get out of here alive, all you have to do is kill someone and get away with it! These are old rules though from a long dead, dumb bear, wouldn't be fun if we didn't add any new and exciting twists!" Mononeko smacked his paw back towards the second banner that looked like a map of the mall. It was surprisingly large! "Right now, you suckers are on floor one, all the floors above you are locked and can only be opened by reaching one of two quotas, someone dies or you manage to solve the puzzle that's placed on each floor! Every night, a new store will open it's gates and you can use whatever inside to your advantage! Isn't that great?! A few more rules, we'll get the ball rolling! Not that I'd know why you'd have guns, but using them is not allowed! When killing someone, no accomplices allowed! That would just make this all too easy, and we can't have that! Also, please direct your attention to your wrists!"

You, along with everyone else, looked down and finally took notice of large black and white bracelet attached to your wrist. Your eyes narrowed in response while everyone else murmured to themselves, you could hear Todomatsu murmur something about how it looked completely gaudy. The black side seemed to have a digital countdown on it with the number 3 on each of them.

"These bracelets serve as a reminder to follow the rules!" Mononeko continued. "You get three chances! After the fourth time of breaking the rules, those bracelets will inject you with a LETHAL DOSE OF DEATH! Er, poison. But it kills ya, so same thing, right? HERE'S SOME MORE RULES! Curfew is 10 pm. After that, the power is switched off and the gates to any open stores are shut! Only the food court is available after that time, so make use of the time you have! The gates open at 8 am sharp, so wake up early if you wanna catch some good deals! Also around the mall are things called Mononeko coins!"

Mononeko held up a copper looking coin that looked like it had the name "Monokuma" scratched out an the picture of the bear on the coin was scratched to look more like a cat.

"Mononeko coins are incredibly rare and if you find one, you can turn them in for special prizes! Anyway there's more rules, but I'm already getting bored of talking to you guys. So here's the rest of the list."

Another banner dropped, along with several smart phones attached to strings that had dangled down in front of everyone. Everyone took the phones, looking at the same list of rules that appeared on the screen.

". . . Eh? Breaking into locked doors is strictly prohibited?" You murmured as you looked down at the phone given to you.

"Sharing your personalized phone is prohibited and must be kept on you at all times. Tch, like I'd share mine in the first place." said Todomatsu.

"Participants are free to explore the open areas of the mall, huh?" said Karamatsu, staring at his own phone.

"Violence against Mononeko or any of the surveillance equipment will result in punishment? Hnnnn ME IS NOT DEALING WITH THIS!" Iyami snapped out, chucking his phone towards the feline on the podium. Mononeko leaned to the side, avoiding the phone entirely and watched with an expectant gaze at the buck toothed man. A small jingle came from Iyami's bracelet before a shock was sent through him, everyone backing away from him as his body jerked around and eventually hit the floor. Another jingle and the number on his bracelet had flickered to the number 2.

"W-What?!" You shouted out, looking back and forth between Iyami and Mononeko.

"Hey, it's alright! Iyami's been through a lot worse!" said Osomatsu, stepping up beside you. "Any moment now, he'll get up and be fine!"

Only he wasn't getting up.

Everyone watched with baited breath for Iyami to rise from the floor and dust himself off, but it wasn't happening, and there was a sudden shriek that came from Nyaa-chan.

"W-What kind of sick game is this?! Nya!" She snapped out, looking towards the black and white cat.

"I already told you guys! It's a game of Mutual Killing! You really need to listen!" said Mononeko.

"Eh? I'm not participating in this junk of a game!" Shounosuke grumbled out, grabbing at his own bracelet and trying to rip it off. Another tune played, this one different and after a few seconds, the short man looked like he was having trouble breathing. His skin started to turn purple, he grabbed at his own neck until he fell flat to the ground. Everyone stared in awe at the sudden development, he wasn't getting up. Neither one of them was getting up!

"Hnnh, man." grumbled Mononeko, using his paws to hold his head up while he stared at everyone over the podium. "What kind of game is this gonna be if you guys don't follow the rules? Already down to fourteen!"

"Wait . . . he's . . ." you stammered out.

"Dead! Dust! Kicked the bucket!" Mononeko shouted, paws up in the air while his tail swayed. "Oh right, that's another rule! Trying to take off your bracelet will result in INSTANT DEATH! HAHAHA!"

The air suddenly felt like it was thicker as everyone else started to realize what was going on, the consequences were setting in. Dekapan stooped down beside Shounosuke while Dayon moved to Iyami to make sure he was alright. He reached down, turning the short man's body over and doubled back at the sight. Eyes wide, blood replacing what probably would have been tears, Shounosuke was clearly dead.

". . . H-Hey, nobody panic!" Osomatsu called out, which was actually pretty odd for those that knew him. "Just wait a few minutes, they'll be up in no time!"

You looked over at him before back down to the two bodies. Nothing was happening. Nothing was happening the way Osomatsu was trying to perceive it!

"He's not . . . getting up." you wheezed out, stepping back a few steps before tripping over your own feet and falling to the ground. "He's really . . . he's."

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Totoko screamed out, everyone else was in too much shock to even respond.

"Nyaahaha! HEHE! HAHAHAHA!" Mononeko burst out into laughter as his paws covered over both sides of that crooked mouth. "I just have to keep repeating myself! You guys are DENSE! I ain't going over the rules again, so figure it out on your own! Now then, I think it's time for me to get a little cat nap, you guys make me tired. Enjoy your experience of MONONEKO MALL!"

"Wait!" You snapped out, but the cat was already gone by the time you turned yourself around.

"All we have to do is kill someone to unlock the next floor, right?" Ichimatsu was already grabbing for that chair again, but this time it was Choromatsu that was stopping him.

"Ichimatsu! We can't be reckless here! Look at what happened to Iyami and Shounosuke!" shouted Choromatsu. Your attention turned back towards Osomatsu, who was staring at the floor with wide eyes and a forced smile on his face.

"No, everything is gonna be fine. We'll be fine. Just give him a moment, he'll come back. He's not dead."

". . . Osomatsu?" you leaned closer to him once you stood, side glancing towards Dekapan who pulled a blanket out of his pants and laid it over Shounosuke's body.

". . . Osomatsu nii-san?" Jyushimatsu came up to his other side, looking at his expression before his attention turned towards the body Dekapan had covered up. Why was this happening? Why was this happening to you? To everyone else. Choromatsu sighed and eventually stepped forward, everyone else turning to look towards him.

"As long as we don't panic, we can all get out of this alive, right? Mononeko said there was two ways to advance to the next floor, we can find the puzzle he was talking about and solve it to open the way!"

"But where is it?" Totoko asked, looking around for any sort of sign.

"I-If I could . . . intervene." you spoke softly, but Choromatsu still heard you and stepped to the side slightly to allow you a place within the middle of the crowd as well. "I think we should all rest for today before trying anything. . . We're all nerve racked and our best bet would probably to just do some exploring, see if there's any exits that are open."

"That's a good idea, jo!" said Hatabo, raising his arms up a little.

"There should be at least one shop open, right? We should go see what it has to offer!" said Chibita. Everyone else nodded in agreement, and slowly started migrating to different areas to see what shop was open. The only ones that hadn't moved were Osomatsu, Karamatsu, and you. Karamatsu was staring at his brother, who kept trying to insist that Shounosuke was going to get up any moment. You slowly stepped up beside them, putting on your best smile.

"Hey, let's go look over here." you motioned with your thumb over your shoulder. Karamatsu turned his attention to you, side glancing towards Osomatsu once more before nodding and grabbing his brother by the shoulders, turning him away and pushing him in the direction you indicated.

No matter what happened, you had to keep your cool, if for anything, to help Choromatsu keep everyone else calm.

 **MONONEKO MALL  
Mutual Killing Game**

 **Survivors Remaining:  
14**


	2. Puzzle or Die!

Osomatsu was slowly starting to come out of his delusional stupor as you and Karamatsu continued to progress down one wing of the mall. Looking at the map on your phone, you silently studied it while occasionally looking over towards the two brothers to make sure they were okay.

"How's he doing?" you asked, lifting your head from watching the phone.

"Better." Karamatsu said, giving his older brother a light pat on his shoulder. Osomatsu's only reaction was to grunt slightly at the impact.

"At least he's stopped muttering." you mentioned, looking back towards your phone. Down this wing of the mall seemed to be a lot of clothing stores, all of which we gated up just as the rest of the mall was.

"These kind of places normally have emergency exits, we should- OH!" Karamatsu began, but suddenly stopped dead in his tracks as you passed by one store. You ended up stopping as well, looking up from your phone to see what was going on.

"Karamatsu? What's-"

"Look at all of this PERFECT FASHION!" he shouted. You blinked once, turning fully to the sound of his voice. He had left Osomatsu just standing in the middle of the walkway and ran off to press his face against the glass of a men's fashion shop, like some kid staring into a candy shop. You couldn't help but stare, looking over towards the gate that blocked the doorway.

"It's locked, Karamatsu." you murmured out. You could almost see the tear streams coming down the glass.

"It's okay! I just have to open the gate!" Karamatsu said, making his way towards the gate. For a moment you rolled your eyes, then something clicked. A rule.

"Karamatsu WAIT!"

You rushed as fast as you could towards him, until a blur of red passed you and before you knew it, Karamatsu was shoved to the floor before he could try to pry the gate open. Standing over him was Osomatsu, panting slightly with a bit of panic in his eyes.

"E-Eh?" Karamatsu stared back up at him from the ground, and you let out a sigh of relief, hand over your rapidly beating heart.

"Thank goodness." you sighed out. Karamatsu looked between you and Osomatsu, still with confusion on his face.

"Opening locked doors is against the rules, Karamatsu." said Osomatsu. "Be more careful."

"A-Ah, right. Sorry my buraza." Karamatsu managed to get out, slowly coming to a stand as Osomatsu turned around to face you. He looked at you for a long moment, before starting forward again without a word. Your eyes followed him as he walked past you, and finally you let out another sigh of relief. At least he was walking and talking on his own now, though judging from his personality earlier, you weren't sure if this was supposed to be him as default. Regardless you were already at Karamatsu's side once he got to his feet fully, forcing a smile on your face.

"Maybe the store will open soon. Mononeko said that one opens every day, right?"

Karamatsu looked solemnly at the outfits that were out of his reach, but nodded his head in response and once more was back on track.

"Guys!" Osomatsu's voice called out. "We've got a problem here!"

"Huh?" you called out after him, picking up the pace to catch up with him. Now you could see what the problem was. The red light of the exit sign glowed dimly above the steel door that was locked down and bolted tighter than Fort Knox probably. You stared a little while in disbelief before falling to your knees, staring up at it.

"A-Are . . . all the exits like this?"

"Probably." muttered Osomatsu, shoving his hands into the pocket of his hoodie.

"So we really are trapped in here." said Karamatsu, staring up at the exit sign. The three of you stood there, or rather they did and you remained sitting on the ground, taking a few moments to consider the situation that you were in. However your thoughts were interrupted when a small jingle played over the intercom of the store.

"Attention shoppers! It is now 10PM!" Mononeko's voice called out. "The mall is shutting down so please find a safe place to rest, and sleep well!"

"W-Wait, find a safe place to rest? What does he mean by that?" you questioned.

"If anyone really wanted to kill someone here, using the cover of darkness would be the easiest way to get away with it." said Osomatsu, the lights above suddenly flickering out, being replaced with the dull emergency lights to at least give some kind of light to return with.

Before you could really say anything else, all three of you heard a scream from the other side of the mall. You didn't waste any time getting to your feet as you rushed with Osomatsu and Karamatsu to the sound of the shout, your heart starting to race in your chest again. Did something already happen?! Was someone killed already?! Why couldn't everyone just work together to figure out the puzzle, if anyone had found it yet! By the time the three of you arrived back at the food court, mostly everyone else had returned. You were the first to start looking around, panic setting in.

"What happened?! Is everyone okay?!" you quickly blurted out, only to settle your eyes on Todomatsu, who was cowering slightly behind an annoyed looking Choromatsu.

"He's afraid of the dark." he said, still with that deadpan expression.

"I AM NOT! I JUST THOUGHT I SAW SOMETHING!" snapped out Todomatsu. You stared with bewilderment before starting to just . . . laugh. It was such a relief, even if it was funny and slightly aimed towards making fun of Todomatsu, but nobody else died, and that was the important part. Todomatsu huffed out, still hiding behind his older brother as he got increasingly more irritated with your laughter at him. However Choromatsu made an effort to try and calm him.

"Where are we supposed to sleep? On the floor?" said Totoko.

"Oh, right right. I forgot about you humans and your needs to have comfortable sleeping arrangements." Mononeko said, stepping forward with a dull expression on the white side of his face and his arms crossed over his chest. "Hmmm . . . HMMMM."

Staring at him in silence, everyone watched the cat as he tapped the side of his head with his paw a few times, then smacked his fist into his open paw.

"Ah ha!" Mononeko called out, lowering down onto all fours and running off towards one of the wings of the mall. The crowd looked at each other before starting to follow the cat as he ran off. Following him had lead them to what looked like a dead end, a gated store that looked like an outdoors shop. The sign was hard to read due to being written in scribbles, but the sign had Mononeko knocking a fish out of a rapid flowing river.

"Here we are! Mononeko's Outdoor Adventure!" Mononeko stood up, paws in the air. "You guys are lucky I'm so nice, this'll be the first store open to you!"

Everyone stared up at the sign before looking inside, staring at what was beyond the gates. Camping supplies, everything anyone would need for surviving the great outdoors was in here, and for some of the group, their eyes sparkled like the gates of heaven were being opened. Mononeko skittered over to the gate lock and flicked out a single claw, which he used to open the lock and manual push open the gate. Or he tried anyway, his short body wasn't enough to get the gate to keep staying up, and the feline was jumping repeatedly to try and knock it back up.

"A-A little help here? I'm not made to grow like catnip you know!" spat out the cat. Iyami, who probably would have been the best candidate for this help, simply stood there with his arms crossed, looking a little frazzled from the shock he had received earlier but at least he was up and walking around now.

"Hmph! Why should me help you after what you did to me?" he spat out, everyone else looking at him before Dayon pushed past him to help lift the gate. He may have not been the brightest, but even he knew when to get things going. Mononeko stared up at the gate once it finally lifted, eyes sparkling until he turned around and presented everyone with their first open shop.

"There you go, you silly humans! There's probably sleeping bags somewhere in here somewhere. . ." he said, bringing a paw up to his mouth in thought. "Well anyway, sleep safe!"

You looked into the store as everyone started to file in, but turned around to speak to Mononeko, only to find him already gone. How was it that he could move so fast? You had literally just turned around. Regardless, you let out a soft sigh and started to follow everyone else inside, soft murmuring and the footsteps of your fellow captives the only sounds accompanying you.

* * *

Your eyes opened to the sound of another jingle being played over the intercom, the night before you had found the sleeping bags along with the other brothers, so just to be safe, you slept along side them in your own bag. Safety in numbers, right? You brought your hand up to rub at the corner of one of your eyes while once more an announcement rang out over the intercom.

"GOOOOOOD MORNING SHOPPERS! Mononeko here to welcome you to another beautiful day under the roof of the GREAT, WONDERFUL, SUPER DUPER MONONEKO MALL! We've got some great deals coming up today, but first I'd like to direct your attention to your phones!"

You were still a little sleepy, so your motions were slow. You reached into your pocket, searching for the phone while Mononeko continued to speak.

"I've added a new rule to the game, because you humans are kinda pathetic being stuck on the first floor still and it just warms my heart to do great things for you. Instead of one shop opening every day, One shop will open every four hours! What a great bargain, right?! Did anyone manage to find the puzzle yet? I'll give you a hint! It can only be seen at a certain time of day, when the moon is out and the birds don't play! Oh, bird sounds really good right now . . . I'm making myself hungry. Eh! Anyway it's time to wake up if you wanna catch these early bird specials! Ah, shoot! Making myself hungry again!"

The announcement ended with another small jingle and eventually you managed to sit upright, looking over at the groaning group of men trying to wake themselves up. You gently reached over to shove at the one closest to you, which happened to be Karamatsu.

"Hey, wake up." you groaned out, not prepared for the next sudden movements. Karamatsu had twisted over, his upper body draped over yours as he dragged you back down to the floor. A small "Oof!" came from you, your eyes wide as you stared at Karamatsu with his cheek pressed to your chest. "K-Karamatsu!"

He opened his eyes slowly to look up at the source of the voice, seeing your flushed face and wide eyes, it took him a second to figure out what happened and where he was, but once he noticed he practically had you pinned under him, he shot upright and away from you, arms in the air as if to show he was keeping his hands to himself.

"S-Sorry!" he squeaked out, causing the rest of his brothers to start waking up as well.

"Eh? What's going on?" said Jyushimatsu, pushing his palm against one of his eyes.

"Nothing!" You called out, standing upright quickly and waving your hands as you almost tripped out of your sleeping bag. "I'm gonna go check and see if everyone is okay!"

"It'll be easier if two of us work together." said Choromatsu, standing up as well. You turned around to look towards him and made a quick nod before rushing off, barely giving him time to follow after. "You guys stop being lazy and get up!"

"Hnngh, just get out of here, Fappymatsu." groaned out Osomatsu, turning around in his bag.

Your rushing slowed down as you started to find the others littered about the store, some already awake, other just starting to crawl out of their sleeping bags. For the most part, it looked like everyone was here. You let out a relieved sigh and closed your eyes for a moment of peace.

"It looks like everyone's here." said Choromatsu, coming up beside you.

"Wait. . ." you opened your eyes, murmuring out. ". . . No, there's only 13 here."

"Eh?" Choromatsu grunted out, looking around to try and find the missing person. "Who's miss- WOAH!"

You had grabbed hold of his hand and pulled him along before he could even get a chance to speak. You were still getting used to everyone's names, but you knew them by faces already, that would make it easier to find if you ran into them. Choromatsu called out to you as he almost tripped over his own feet trying to keep up, however it was hard to hear him over your own footsteps and your heart beating in your ears. You had almost passed a small section of foliage that decorated sections of the mall, but you came to a sliding stop when you noticed something off. You let go of Choromatsu's hand, leaving him a blushing mess behind you as you stepped towards the plants, pushing the leaves apart.

Your scream echoed out through the entire building almost.

Eyes wide, you stared at the blood stained leaves of the foliage as Iyami's broken body was carelessly strewn over the dirt of the large planter. Your hand covered your mouth as you backed away, once more falling back onto the floor as your legs gave out from under you.

"What's- IYAMI!" Choromatsu screamed out, backing away as well. You hadn't gotten a good look, but Iyami was certainly dead if the amount of blood all over the planter was anything to indicate to it. It wasn't long before everyone else started to arrive, but kept distance once they realized what had happened.

"Iyami-san!" Totoko called out, standing behind the sextuplets so she didn't have to get a full look at the body.

"What happened? I-Is he really. . ." Nyaa-chan quietly spoke. Swallowing hard, Dekapan was once more the one to investigate the body, since he was the only one that really had any sort of medical experience. Pushing the leaves to the side, he checked everything from vitals to how long ago this had happened, and he made an estimate, shaking his head with a sigh.

"He's been gone for a while. Some time last night it seems." said Dekapan, head low.

"Someone . . . someone killed him?! One of us is a murderer!" screamed Nyaa-chan.

"N-Nyaa-chan, please! W-We shouldn't be jumping to conclusions!" said Choromatsu, trying to calm her down.

" **WRONG!** "

The entire crowd turned to look at Mononeko who was standing on the edge of the planter, tail swaying back and forth.

"Woah, lookit here! You found a body! Nobody killed him though. Probably suicide."

"SUICIDE?!" Osomatsu snapped out, teeth grit tight in his mouth and his hand curling into a fist. He split through the crowd, rushing forward quickly to try and punch the feline in the face. "IYAMI WOULDN'T DO SOMETHING STUPID LIKE THAT!"

Mononeko watched the fist come towards him and it made contact, but the moment Osomatsu even touched him, that jingle went off and volts of electricity shot through the man's body while Mononeko was thrown back from the punch, plush body hitting the ground with a small squeak.

"OSOMATSU!" Almost everyone yelled out as Osomatsu hit the floor, body twitching while static sparks cracked off his body. Another small jingle, and the number on his bracelet rolled down to 2.

Mononeko groaned and slowly pushed himself up, rubbing at his face with his paws. "Jeeze, you humans gotta throw temper tantrums over everything don't you?"

While everyone else had gathered around the eldest brother, you had still remained on the floor, staring in the same look of shock you had when you discovered Iyami's body.

"W-Why suicide?" you stammered out.

"It was kinda suicide!" said Mononeko, pointing to where Iyami's body remained. "Oh, it's another rule I forgot to mention. You only get one shot at solving the puzzle, otherwise if you get it wrong, you die!"

"Iyami . . . found the puzzle and was trying to solve it?" you questioned. That was probably why his body had been there so long. He had found it last night and tried to solve it on his own!

"Looks like it. Man, this is pretty grusome." Mononeko pushed back the leaves again, showing the damage that was done to Iyami. Three large holes were in his back, presumably from what had killed him.

"I'm scared, jo!" Hatabo whined out as he hid behind Chibita who was so shocked, he couldn't even move.

". . . You idjit. . . YOU DAMN IDJIT!" He shouted out, tears streaming from his eyes.

"Do you understand now how serious this game is?" Mononeko's voice suddenly went down an octave as he spoke, that red eye seeming to glow. "This is my world, and in my world, things work different. Once you're gone, you're gone! So be more careful, okay?~"

You wanted to do something, anything, but your body wouldn't move, and the tears were quickly building in your eyes. Mononeko wasn't playing around, he was completely serious. If you didn't approach this game with caution . . . there was no coming back.

"Well, I suppose I should leave you guys time to mourn." said Mononeko, arms going back behind his head. "The loss of a friend is certainly a break to the morale, isn't it? Nyaahaha!"

He was gone within a moment, and everyone was left with broken spirits in his wake. Dayon cried loudly with his own name, Dekapan tried to comfort him while Hatabo and Chibita tried to comfort each other. The brothers on the other hand were gathered around the eldest, trying to get him to wake up.

"Osomatsu nii-san! Wake up!" Todomatsu cried out, Ichimatsu eventually fell to his knees as well from the shock.

". . . This isn't happening." he whimpered out. "This can't be real!"

You willed yourself to move, one leg before the other, until you could stand. Seeing Iyami's body just laying there, it was almost too much. But something caught your eye, making your heart leap into your throat.

". . . D-Dying message!"

"Huh?" said Choromatsu, turning his attention away from Osomatsu for a moment.

"A dying message! Iyami left a dying message. Look!" It hurt you to be so close to the body, but you pushed back some leaves to show that Iyami had used some of his blood to leave a message. ". . . West wing, nearest to the fountain. Only at night."

"Is that . . . the answer to the puzzle?" said Totoko.

"It . . . might be" you answered, letting the leaves go and turning your attention towards where Iyami's message directed.

"I didn't think Iyami would be someone to sacrifice himself for the rest of us." Totoko spoke, hand up to her chest.

"He probably messed up and tried to get the right answer to the rest of us." said Ichimatsu, lifting his gaze back towards Iyami.

"Well it was half of self sacrifice." she replied, eyes half lidded.

"Either way, we have to wait until the power is out to test his answer." you said. "If we try to solve the puzzle now, we'll . . . end up like him."

* * *

"Attention Shoppers! It is now 10 PM!" Mononeko's announcement rang out over the mall, causing everyone to look of from their respective places around the food court. You sat against the wall near one of the restaurants, knees drawn up against your chest as you sat next to Ichimatsu. The both of you stared up as you listened to Mononeko's message. "The mall is shutting down so please find a safe place to rest and sleep well!"

Ichimatsu's gaze lowered and he looked over at you, nodding his head a little. The both of you stood up, watching the lights in the wings of the mall shut off row after row, until the emergency lights turned on in their place. You pulled a bag out from beside you and handed it over, Ichimatsu pulling a flashlight from it and a pack of batteries. It was time to solve the puzzle and not let Iyami's sacrifice be for nothing.

Ichimatsu had agreed to go with you since the rest of his brothers were busy tending to Osomatsu, so his shuffling steps walked along beside yours as he shined the flashlight down into the west wing. The two of you were silent, but as you started to draw closer to your destination, you spoke up.

"Hey . . . Ichimatsu."

"What?"

". . . Do you think we're gonna get out of here?"

"Why wouldn't we?" Ichimatsu scoffed.

"Your brother . . . he only has two more chances, Iyami is gone, so is that other guy." Honestly you couldn't remember his name at all, he had died long before you gotten a chance to memorize it.

". . . We're getting out because I'm not playing this cat's game." he muttered, lifting his eyesight to look at you. "He's just a cat, right? He can probably be distracted pretty easily if you play with him."

"You mean like a real cat?"

"Yeah."

You couldn't help but snicker at his response, causing him to furrow his brows and snap out.

"What's so funny?"

"Ah, nothing! I just . . . imagining Mononeko playing like an actual cat. . . It's funny to think about."

Ichimatsu scowled, but that expression soon melted away and was replaced with a small smile. "Yeah, I guess it is."

The two of you found the fountain in the west wing, looking up at the statue that was of Mononeko holding a jug that was pouring water, like it was some kind of historical art piece.

"Talk about being hubris." you muttered as Ichimatsu shined the light up to it.

"I didn't think there would be a time where I didn't like cats." said Ichimatsu, half lidded stare watching the water pour from the fountain.

"You like cats?" You asked, smile on your face. Ichimatsu caught the smile and instantly his face flushed and he looked away from you.

"Y-Yeah."

That grin felt like it was stuck on your face. Geeze, who knew this doll of darkness could be so cute? But right now you both had to focus on finding the puzzle. There were two planters on either side of the fountain, and that smile left your face when you realized Iyami didn't specify which one. He had written the one nearest the fountain, but which one?

"I . . . don't know which one to pick. Iyami didn't say which one." you said with a soft frown.

". . . Just pick one and see what happens." murmured Ichimatsu.

"D-Didn't you hear Mononeko?! If we get it wrong, we die!"

"Right, right." Ichimatsu waved his hand dismissively in front of him. "If we can't pick, why don't we just check them at the same time?"

"That's . . . a good idea." you said, a little surprised by Ichimatsu's problem solving skills. He didn't look like someone that had that kind of initiative. While he went to one planter, you went to the other, pushing aside the foliage.

"It's a plastic flower." you said out loud, looking down at the sight of a blue flower sticking out of the dirt, clearly like it didn't belong with the rest of the plants here. "It's got a button in the middle of it."

"Same over here." said Ichimatsu, shining his light down onto the same flower.

". . . Which one do we pick?"

". . . We push the button at the same time."

". . . Okay." you said, nodding your head before looking tentatively back down at the flower.

"On the c-count of three." said Ichimatsu, voice cracking with a bit of his nervousness.

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

You quickly pushed the button in the middle of the flower, Ichimatsu doing the same. You heard a clicking sound and something like a compartment opening, before Ichimatsu's scream filled the air along with the coppery scent of fresh blood.

"Oh no! **ICHIMATSU!** "

 **MONONEKO MALL** **  
Mutual Killing Game**

 **Survivors Remaining:  
13**


	3. The Light of Hope!

**Author's Note** : Due to some more graphic scenes and language, I've had to bump the rating up to mature. But we all saw that coming, didn't we?

* * *

" **AUUUUGHH!** " Ichimatsu screeched out as he fell back to the floor, hand smacked over his right eye. You turned in a flash of a moment, looking to see him rolling around holding his eye while from the tree a compartment had opened. Three spikes had protruded from the trunk and from the looks of it, Ichimatsu managed to dodge getting impaled by the first two, but the third had gotten a direct hit on his eye.

"Ichimatsu! ICHIMATSU!" You called out, rushing to he side and just standing over him in a fret. You weren't sure what to do!

"IT HURTS! MY EYE! FUCK FUCK!" a string of profanity left his mouth as he continued to scream out. You were already at your wit's end, seeing Ichimatsu like this was quickly sending you to the edge. You had to do something fast.

"W-Wait here! Maybe there's a store open!" You called out and rushed off without even thinking. Of course you found a store that probably would have helped, but the gate was shut. Inside were all kinds of medical supplies that would have helped Ichimatsu. In your panic you simply tried to reach through the gate, hand reaching and swiping at nothing.

"N-No, please! Ichimatsu needs this!" you whined out to yourself, pulling your arm back. The thought crossed your mind, you could force the gate open, but what use would you be to Ichimatsu if you were knocked out on the floor from an electrical shock? Eyes narrowing, you stepped back from the gate and looked over your shoulder. It was time to simply make due. Your feet carried you back quickly to Ichimatsu's side, who was now sitting up with his hand over his eye. There was blood all over the floor, all down his front, seeping through his fingers. He sat there with his jaw set, teeth grit together as he tried to deal with the pain.

"I couldn't get into the health store." you apologized to Ichimatsu, but as you spoke, you started to pull at the bottom of your shirt. "I'm not the greatest at first aid, but this will help until the store opens."

Ichimatsu looked up at you, tears in his good eye and you were sure there would have been some in the other if it was actually there anymore. With the amount of blood all over, there probably wasn't much left of his eye. You tore at your shirt and managed to make a long enough strip that you could wrap it around his head and over the wound. You didn't want to see the damage, but you were going to have to if you wanted to get him relatively fixed up.

". . . M-Move your hand."

You felt your stomach churn as his hand pulled away from what used to be his eye. He was lucky that was all that was taken, any closer and it probably would have punctured right into his brain. The gory remains of what used to be his eye and the surrounding flesh had been shredded, and it took all the willpower you had to start covering it with the makeshift gauze that was your shirt. A few wrap arounds, you tied the strip behind his head and once that was complete, you moved around to his front, already the blood staining the cloth where his eye used to be.

"It hurts. . ." Ichimatsu repeated, staring up at you like there was more you could do. "It hurts. It hurts!"

"I-I know! I'm sorry!" You did the only thing you could think of, without medicine to help him with the pain, taking his mind off of it would probably help, right? You knelt down and pulled him up against you in a hug, holding him tightly as his frantic hands found their way around you to cling to salvation.

A sudden spotlight dropped down onto the both of you, followed by the sound of a few pops and confetti started to rain down.

"CONGRATULATIONS! YOU SOLVED THE PUZZLE!" Mononeko came riding down on what looked like a small hot air balloon, landing on the floor and carefully working his way out of the basket. Both you and Ichimatsu stared at him in silence as his paws clapped together.

"EVERYONE! COME AND CELEBRATE THE GRAND OPENING OF THE SECOND FLOOR!" Mononeko had pulled out a megaphone and shouted into it, causing the survivors to slowly start to trickle in towards the west wing of the mall.

"W-Why. . ." you muttered, looking towards the cat. "Why are you doing this?"

"Eh? That's what solving the puzzle does! You wanna get out, don't you? Keep going up!" said Mononeko.

"No! Why are you having everyone hurt each other?! Why does anyone have to get hurt?!"

"Pffft." Mononeko snorted out, covering his mouth with his paws. "If no one got hurt then it wouldn't be much of a killing game, would it? Games are no fun unless you put a little risk into them!"

"NONE OF US ASKED TO BE HERE!"

"I know, right?" he snickered out, attention dropping to Ichimatsu who stared at him with a look that could probably murder thousands if he had the ability. "Woah! Look at you! You didn't even die! Talk about a lucky shot, huh?"

Ichimatsu stared at the cat for a long while, before suddenly lurching forward to try and and grab at Mononeko's neck. Fortunately, you still had your arms around him so holding him back from causing himself even more pain was an easy feat. "I'LL KILL HIM! LET ME GO!"

"Ichimatsu! You can't hurt him or else you'll get punished!" You cried out.

"They're right, you know." Mononeko said, waving a single claw at him while the rest of his body did a small sway. "You'd think your friend and brother would be a lesson!"

"Damn it, what's going on?" said Chibita as he and the rest of the group arrived at the scene. Mononeko turned around immediately to welcome them with open arms.

"Nyaahaha! Your friends managed to solve the puzzle! Isn't that great? The purple one didn't even die!" he spoke, swinging back one of his paws to show both you and Ichimatsu.

"Nii-san!" Jyushimatsu's voice called out and he rushed quickly from the group to his brother's side.

"Ichimatsu! What happened to your eye?!" gasped out Totoko, her hands covering her mouth.

"Since the puzzle was solved, it's time for the grand opening of floor two!" said Mononeko, pulling out a small remote with a single red button on it. "TADA! NYEEHEE!"

His other paw smacked down on the button, and there was a series of beeps followed by an explosion that came from the bolted doors that would have been exits. Everyone braced themselves from the explosion, waiting until the smoke and dust cleared to see that the doors had been blown completely off.

"From here on out, the puzzles will only get harder! This was pretty easy to be honest." the cat sighed out, resting his head against his hand.

"That . . . wasn't easy at all!" you cried out.

"Oh quit your whining." said Mononeko, waving a paw once again. "Sheesh, you humans complain about anything if it isn't easy! Anyway, since a new floor has opened, I should explain a couple things!"

The crowd stared at the cat as he pulled out some papers from behind him, coughing into his paw to clear his throat.

"Since a new floor has opened, that gives you access to more shops!" he began. "As a result, all the shops on the previous floor that weren't open before are now open completely during mall hours! You are allowed to maneuver between floors, and the maps on your phones have been updated to reflect the new floor! Even though the mall is closed right now, feel free to explore the next floor if you wish! Otherwise, it's time for humans to rest their eyes!"

Mononeko clapped his paws together, the paper he was reading from getting shredded by his claws and he stepped into the small hot air balloon once more. Everyone watched as it drifted upwards towards the ceiling, a panel opening up and swallowing him and the balloon whole. For a moment, everyone was quiet, the only sound was Ichimatsu's occasional whimper and the rustling of stay confetti falling from above. Osomatsu eventually pushed his way through the crowd, a slight limp in his walk as he started without a word towards the opening to the second floor.

"Osomatsu?" you said, coming to a stand as he passed. He didn't even bother to look at you, to look at anyone as he walked. Everyone else just stared on with confused looks, before eventually starting to file in after him. Both you and Jyushimatsu helped Ichimatsu come to a stand and with a heavy sigh, you helped the younger brother walk Ichimatsu towards the stairs to the next floor.

* * *

The second floor was almost the same as the first, but just as Mononeko said, there were different stores and a bit more variety. On this floor, there was more food oriented shops, even an entire grocery store that had almost any kind of food you could imagine. But even with a new variety of shops, the spirit of the group hadn't quite lifted. Some were still getting over Iyami's death, while others were still shocked from Ichimatsu's condition. The overall morale was low as everyone was already mentally and physically worn from participating in this cruel game.

Everyone decided to set up camp where the food court would have been on the first floor. On this floor, the area was replaced with a large fountain, similar to the smaller ones on the bottom floor and just as decorative with the statue of Mononeko in the middle of it, this one standing on one foot and doing a pose where water was coming from his mouth. The supplies from the bottom floor were brought up and for the most part, everything was going . . . without hitch. Since the bottom floor had all of it's stores opened, you were able to get proper medical items to help Ichimatsu, and Dekapan dressed his wound a whole lot better than you had. You felt better knowing that, despite never being able to see out of that eye again, Dekapan had fixed it so it wouldn't become infected.

It had been a couple days since the second floor opened and in your spare time, you went with one other person to try and find the second puzzle, however there wasn't much luck. Mononeko wasn't kidding when he said things were going to get harder from here on out. This time you had come back with Hatabo, you sitting on the edge of the fountain while he sat on the floor, letting out a sigh.

"Did you two have any luck, nyaa?" asked Nyaa-chan.

"Nothing." you said, slumping a little.

"This puzzle is too hard, jo." said Hatabo. "How are we supposed to solve something we can't find?"

"We're gonna be stuck on the floor forever, dayoooon!" cried out Dayon.

"Hey now, we can't give up just like that." said Choromatsu, crossing his arms. "Sure it's taking a little longer to find but there has to be somewhere we didn't look."

"NYAAHAHA!" That familiar laugh rang out suddenly, everyone whipping around to look at Mononeko who had his paws behind his back and was standing on his toes. "What gives? You guys have been on this floor two days and nothing's happened!"

"We can't find the puzzle, ya idjit!" said Chibita, growling a bit under his breath.

"Tsk, you guys couldn't find anything even if I placed it under your nose with fish paste!"

"We need a clue, Mononeko!" you said, leaning forward so you could rest your hands on your knees.

Mononeko looked at you and pushed a paw to his chin, tail flicking back and forth behind him. "Hmm, I dunno. I've been babying you guys a lot lately. I think it's time for some different motivation!"

"Different motivation?" Karamatsu said, taking a step closer to where you were.

"Yee!" the cat replied. "And I already had something prepared!"

The crowd split when Mononeko walked his way through it, stepping up onto the fountain beside where you sat. That one eye closed, he patted his chest before raising one paw up to the air. That paw had a single rolled up paper, tied with a red ribbon.

"What's that?" asked Dekapan, standing up from looking over Ichimatsu's wound.

"This!" Mononeko tossed it up in the air before snatching it right when it fell in front of his face. "This is a list of everyone's deepest, darkest secrets!"

"S-Secrets?" you said, scooting away a bit from the cat that had been standing next to you.

"That's right!" Mononeko used the scroll to point towards the rest of the group. "You humans seem a bit slower than the ones I'm used to dealing with, so I did a bit of research and dug up some interesting tidbits! Despite his stupidity, the bear did have some pretty good ideas. So here's what we're gonna do! Starting tonight, each day the puzzle goes unsolved, or someone isn't killed, I'm gonna read off one of your dark secrets off this list, to everyone!"

There was a few gasps among the crowd, a couple of murmurs and one loud wail from Todomatsu in the back.

"Good, you guys understand then! If you don't want everyone finding out all the terrible things about yourselves, you better get a move on then!"

"That's pointless." Osomatsu spoke suddenly, causing the group to look back towards him. "The only person that doesn't already know about us is them."

You blinked as Osomatsu jerked his thumb in your direction, and looked between him and the cat.

"That may be true, but you underestimate just how deep I had to dig to get these juicy tidbits. Would you like me to read some off right now?" Mononeko said, starting to pull at the ribbon on the scroll. Todomatsu came barreling through the crowd, rushing to try and snatch the list from the cat. Every time he tried to grab for it, Mononeko moved his paw in another direction, until it was almost like their hands were blurred from the speed. Eventually the man gave up and let out a pathetic howl as he held his head in anguish.

"Geeze Totty, is there something you're not telling us?" said Osomatsu with a large, shit-eating grin.

"SHUT UP! I'LL DEAL WITH THIS MYSELF!" gasped out Todomatsu, shoving through the crowd and breaking free from it to rush down one of the wings of the second floor. Mononeko watched as Todomatsu rushed off, and with a grin of his own, placed the scroll away.

"Well looks like that got this started!" he quipped.

"This is awful." you muttered. "You're awful!"

"This is part of the game, my friend." said Mononeko, winking in your direction. "Happy hunting!~"

And just like that, it was like he was gone in the blink of an eye.

The group all murmured among themselves, expressing their concerns over what was going to happen next. You slowly stood from your place on the edge of the fountain, looking just as defeated as everyone else.

"How are we supposed to find the puzzle if we don't have any clues?" you said. "I haven't seen anything that even looks remotely like a puzzle."

"We can't give up hope just yet." said Karamatsu, placing his hand on your shoulder. "Without a bit of darkness, there wouldn't be any place for the light to shine."

"Wow that . . . actually made sense, Karamatsu." said Choromatsu, a small smile on his face. You looked over to the man with his hand on your shoulder and tried your best to give him a smile in return. "You're right, we'll work this out."

* * *

"Good morning shoppers! It is now 8 AM! Mononeko Mall is open for business! Please enjoy your stay!"

Your eyes slowly peeled open from the morning announcement, sitting upright slowly to see that some people had already been up and about. That was good, maybe they were working together to find the puzzle! It put a smile on your face to think that everyone was starting to work together, even if it was for a motive. Slowly you crawled out of your sleeping bag, standing and stretching your back out. The sleeping bag did give comfort, but not enough from sleeping on the hard floor of a mall every night. You were just about to stretch your legs when Nyaa-chan came running up to you, panic on her face.

"Eh? Nyaa? What's- uh!" You had started to inquire about her panicked state, but she grabbed your hand without a word and pulled you with her, rushing so much she was already out of breath and it was hard for you to keep up. She eventually brought you to a small gathering of people, all standing around what looked like a flag pole.

"Oh, what's going- AHH!"

You hadn't been prepared for this sight, Hatabo laying on the ground, eyes wide with his last expression of fear on his face, a large flag pole impaled through his chest while his body soaked in a pool of his own blood. You squeaked out and covered your mouth to prevent yourself from screaming anymore, taking a couple steps back in shock.

"N-Not Hatabo. . ." Chibita said, choking back tears. "He didn't deserve this, damn it!"

A jingle played over the intercom before Mononeko's voice replaced it, everyone staring up towards the sound of the voice.

"Attention shoppers! It looks like we have our first murder! Who's the lucky sucker, huh? Everyone please report to the scene of the crime! Nyaahaha!"

It wasn't long before everyone else arrived, expressing their own shock at finding Hatabo dead. Osomatsu however, just seemed to stare with little emotion.

"Hatabo?!" Totoko called out once she arrived to the scene.

"He died to the thing he loved, flags." said Chibita, placing his hand over his heart.

"Alright, settle down, settle down!" said Mononeko as he made his way past everyone and to the scene of the crime. "Woah! Man look at that sweet expression!"

His words were answered with silence and the occasional dirty looks from those surrounding him.

"Heh, tough crowd. Well anyway, this right here is definitely a murder! So here's the deal!" Mononeko pulled a small black box out from behind him and held it up into the air, a holographic screen popping up and showing something that looked like a digital document. "Uploaded to your phones is something I like to call Mononeko Info Files! It keeps track of all the clues you find about a murder! Use these to keep your clues organized and find the killer! You have an hour to gather as much information as possible and when that time is up, it's time to present your case! Figure out who the murderer is and you all live to see another day while the murderer is executed for their crimes!"

"W-Wait, what did you mean by living to see another day?" you asked, looking down at the cat.

"Oh right, if you accuse the wrong person of being the murderer, the real culprit gets to leave the mall while the accusers are executed in their place! Nyaahaha!"

". . . We might as well just dig our own graves now." said Totoko, deadpan expression on her face.

"Come on, little fish lady! At least put some effort into the game!" said Mononeko, dancing around her as if he was doing some sort of fast paced examination.

"I can't do this. . ." you finally said something, only to fall to your knees, staring ahead in shock. "I can't . . . this is all too much. . ."

"Anyway, the clock starts now! Good luck!"

Mononeko was gone, and everyone seemed to stand in place for a few moments until Choromatsu spoke up, gulping hard beforehand.

"This . . . looks really bad. But we can do this! We just have to remember that in the end, we're all still friends, right?"

No one answered him.

Karamatsu knelt down beside you, hands on your shoulders to give you support while everyone else starting to pull out their phones to look at the Mononeko Info File.

 **Mononeko Info File: The Case of Hatabo**

 **Victim was found around 8 AM, pierced through the chest once by a flag pole.**

 **Death estimated some time around 3 AM.**

 **Current Suspects: None**

It was a short list so far, but after a bit of investigating, they would have more clues, right? Totoko suddenly growled out, grabbing at her head and scratching her nails into it.

"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE! NOBODY IN THIS RAG TAG GROUP OF LOSERS HAS ANY SORT OF DETECTIVE SKILLS!"

"T-Totoko, we gotta have some faith in our own abilities." said Choromatsu, trying to calm her down. All she ended up doing was grabbing at the front of his hoodie and holding him in a tight grip.

"This is probably your fault, you stupid, shitty NEETS!" she snapped out, shaking him back and forth.

"Heh." Karamatsu patted your shoulder and came to a stand, placing his shades over his eyes. "I will be the light that will guide my brothers and friends forward, INTO THE DARKNESS."

" **KARAMATSU, JUST SHUT UP.** " Both Totoko and Choromatsu called out, causing him to step back with a bit of a grunt.

"If Shittymatsu wants to take the leadership role, just let him." Ichimatsu growled out. Everyone stopped to look over at the fourth brother, who glared with his only good eye. "At least he's doing something, rather than pointing fingers and making empty accusations."

". . . Ichimatsu. . ." Karamatsu stared at his brother over his shades, a dumfounded look on his face. Totoko dropped Choromatsu from her grip and let out a small "Tch." in response, the third brother coughing out once he was released.

"Alright then, leader." you said, looking up to him with a hopeful smile. "Where do we start?"

Karamatsu looked around as everyone turned to look to him for guidance, still dumbstruck that anyone was actually taking him seriously. He swallowed hard and looked towards Hatabo's body, then adjusted his shades properly back over his eyes.

"W-Well." he stammered out. "When was the last time he was seen?"

"I didn't see him at bed time, nya." said Nyaa-chan, pawed glove poking at her chin in thought. Karamatsu glanced up before suddenly pointing his hand outwards. "We need to split up and look for any other clues! Find out what store the flag came from! Get witness testimonies!"

Everyone else nodded, looks of hope and determination on their faces as they split off into groups. That left Karamatsu, Osomatsu, and you into a group. You slowly managed to get to your feet, forcing yourself to stare at the body impaled. It was then you suddenly remembered something.

"Hey, Karamatsu?"

"What's wrong?" he replied, standing upright from leaning over to look for any more clues.

"Do you think . . . it might have been Todomatsu?"

"Todomatsu never gets into fights." said Osomatsu, staring off to the side. "He knows better than to get into battles he can't win."

"But he was really trying to get that list from Mononeko last night. Then he said he'd deal with it himself. Doesn't that kinda sound like a motive for murder?"

Both Karamatsu and Osomatsu looked at each other, an expression of uncertainty on their faces.

"I guess . . . we'll have to add him to the list of suspects." said Osomatsu.

* * *

The investigation went on for the hour limit that Mononeko provided, and once time was up, his voice called out over the intercom.

"TIME'S UP! Gather your evidence and make your way down to the ground floor food court! Isn't this exciting? I wonder if you've figured out who did it! Nyaahaha! You get five minutes to compare your evidence and then it's JUDGMENT TIME!"

Karamatsu, Osomatsu, and yourself looked up when the announcement was called, and with a heavy sigh, you steeled your resolve and looked to both brothers.

"I think . . . we got some pretty good evidence. Are you guys ready?"

"Not like we have much of a choice." muttered Osomatsu, but nodded his head to his brother. The three of you headed off, making your way towards the ground floor where Mononeko told everyone to meet. Your stomach was doing flip flops, it was so hard to tell if this was going to turn out okay. It wasn't, either way, someone was going to die, and it tore you up. Mononeko's game was turning into something you possibly couldn't win, but . . . you just had to have hope, like Karamatsu said.

Light can't shine if there isn't some darkness in the first place.

 **MONONEKO MALL  
Mutual Killing Game**

 **Survivors Remaining:  
12**


	4. The First Trial

**Author's Note:** I am so sorry I am terrible at writing these kind of scenes. I feel like I didn't let enough time pass in the trial but if I wrote anymore it might have become boring or sound like filler, so I apologize if it seems that way! ;w; Also remember that I pick victims and murderers via a generator, so lmao was this fuckin' weird to write out.

* * *

The walk down to the food court felt like the longest walk you had ever taken. Someone among you had killed Hatabo, and now you had to figure out who had done it, or else risk being killed yourself. What kind of sick game was this? Either way, nobody won! The puzzles were too hard to find and even harder to solve, risking your life in the process. At this point you were sure that by the time this was all over, no one would be left. A few faces popped into your mind, and you shook your head to clear your thoughts. Now wasn't the time to be reminiscent of times past, you had your own life and the lives of others on the line with this . . . whatever it was, a trial?

When you arrived to the food court, it was like everything had been changed around, it didn't even look like a food court anymore! It looked like some kind of judgment circle. Places for everyone to stand in a circle was in the center, and at the head of it all was a large throne that Mononeko was already sitting in. In three places around the circle were Shonosuke, Iyami, and Hatabo's pictures, black ribbons hanging off the corners and drooping gracefully over the frames.

"Hai hai! Welcome welcome to the first ever Mononeko Trial! Again, the dumb bear had some good ideas so this should go pretty smoothly!" Mononeko sat upright, leaning in from his chair. "This is a trial of sorts, your goal is to find out who the killer is and save your own skins! Get it wrong and you all die while the killer is home free! I hope you guys are confident in yourselves because this is a life or death matter!"

"Why are . . . their pictures here?" you said, motioning towards the frames.

"Oh, I didn't want them to feel left out!" Mononeko's eye closed in a wistful look as his paws came together in front of him.

"That's just cruel!" you snapped out in response. Mononeko shrugged his shoulders before smacking his paws onto the arms of that throne.

"Alright you humans! Pick your places and present your case!"

You looked to everyone else reluctantly filing in place at the circle before letting out a sigh and moving in yourself, taking your place and looking expectantly at the first person to speak. Clearing his throat, Choromatsu held his phone in his hand and began to read off the evidence that had been found.

"With . . . uh, closer investigation of the body, we found that Hatabo had been stabbed multiple times in the same place, instead of just one blow. The flag pole came from the outdoors shop on the first floor, which means the killer either would have had to carry the weapon with them when we moved to the second floor, or had come back to retrieve it later."

"Witness statements say that Hatabo wasn't around at curfew, which is 10 PM." said Totoko, reading off her own phone. "Others that also weren't around were Todomatsu, myself, Jyushimatsu, Dayon, and Dekapan. Jyushimatsu was with me at the time of the murder, which was 3 AM."

"What the hell were you doing with Totoko at three in the morning, Jyushimatsu?!" snapped out Osomatsu.

"Eh? YAKYU!" Jyushimatsu yelled out.

"He was trying to get into the sports shop to get to the baseball section." said Totoko, glaring in Osomatsu's direction. "I was on my way back to the base when I found him."

"So that rules out both Totoko and Jyushimatsu as suspects." you said, tapping your chin lightly with your finger.

"Of course, like I would even hurt anyone!"

"There was that one time-eeehh shutting up." Choromatsu began, only to fall silent when Totoko glared in his direction too.

"Dayon was with me in the medical shop." Dekapan called out, Dayon nodding his head quickly a few times.

"Then all who is left is . . . Todomatsu." said Choromatsu, looking to his brother. Todomatsu looked around at everyone, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.

". . . You're kidding, right? You guys really think I killed Hatabo?!" he snapped out.

"You were frantic when Mononeko was about to start reading our secrets, that sounds a lot like motivation to commit a murder." you said, frowning in his direction.

"I wasn't anywhere near him!"

"There aren't any witnesses to give you an alibi."

Todomatsu looked around at everyone, growling a little under his breath. "I didn't kill Hatabo! After I ran off I tried to find the puzzle! I ended up finding this instead!"

Todomatsu reached into his pocket and tossed something into the middle of the circle, a small copper coin spun for a few moments before landing heads up. It was a Mononeko Coin.

"Ooooh! You found a Mononeko Coin!" said Mononeko as he stood up in his chair. "You get a special reward for that! Hmm, you probably want something to help prove your innocence!"

"I don't need it." he murmured out, staring with strained eyes at the cat. "You're all so trigger happy to point at me thinking I did it that you guys didn't even find the right kind of evidence!"

Mononeko blinked, sitting back down in his chair as Todomatsu reached into his hoodie and pulled out some scrap of cloth. He tossed it into the middle of the circle as well, eyes narrowed as he stared down at it. "I knew everyone was going to think I did it, so I looked harder and I found these scraps in one of the trash cans."

"What's this supposed to prove?" said Ichimatsu, looking down at the cloth scrap with his only working eye.

"We're the only ones in this mall, correct?" Todomatsu sighed out. "If that's the case, the cloth has to belong to one of us, since there's probably no outside interference."

"I did notice there was some clothes missing from the men's fashion shop on the way here." said Karamatsu, one arm crossed over his chest while the other was lifted to have his hand push his shades closer to his face.

"But if it wasn't Todomatsu, we're out of suspects, nyaa." said Nyaa-chan, an expression of worry clear on her face.

"This just means it could be anyone now." you said, glancing to Mononeko. "Can I see the cloth for a closer look?"

"Hmmn? Sure sure!" the cat used his paw to wave you off, and you walked around your place of standing to grab the cloth and look it over. It was brown in color and you could see dark spots where the fabric had been torn. It was clear that it was from some form of clothing.

"There's blood on this." you murmured out, looking up from your intense investigation of the cloth. "Missing clothes from the men's fashion shop, torn up, blood stained cloth being found in the garbage. Karamatsu, do you know what outfit was taken?"

"E-Eh? A-A suit, I think." Karamatsu sputtered out, nervously peering over his shades.

"Only two people here were wearing suits, and one of them is already dead." pointed out Osomatsu. Everyone's attention slowly turned towards the only other person wearing a suit. Dayon.

"Wah? I have an alibi!" said Dayon, waving his hands in front of him.

"Yeah, he was with me!" Dekapan assured everyone.

"A suit goes missing from the men's fashion shop and the remains of a torn, blood stained one are found in the trash. No one else here wears a suit except you, Dayon." said Todomatsu, brows furrowed.

"I didn't kill Hatabo, DAYON!" Dayon called out, though he was quickly growing nervous with everyone attacking him.

It was then something caught your eye, something that was shining on the sleeve of Dayon's suit.

"Dayon, lift your arm." you demanded.

"I didn't-"

"Lift your arm, you shithead." Ichimatsu grunted out, reaching over and pushing Dayon's arm up. Just as you had expected, Dayon had forgotten to take the tag off of the suit he wore.

"I see." you murmured out, things were quickly starting to fall into place. Taking a deep breath, you pointed towards Dayon, a look of determination on your face. "I think I know exactly what happened, Dayon is the killer!"

"Oh?" said Mononeko, leaning forward from his chair. "Explain your reasoning! Better hope you're right!"

"When you were threatening to read off our secrets, Todomatsu reacted negatively." you began. "This made it look like he had a motive to commit murder, which anyone could easily use to throw him under the bus. Using that as a cover, Dayon decided to take action. He probably didn't want to be stuck in a never ending loop of being stuck on the second floor, and decided to pick an easy target."

"Hatabo has a thing for flags." Todomatsu said, taking over the conversation. "He probably picked up a flag pole from the outdoor shop and brought it up to the second floor with him. My guess is that he was looking for a flag to hang on it, when Dayon used the cover of the powered down mall to stalk him in the darkness. He waited until Hatabo was away from everyone else so we wouldn't hear him attack, and used Hatabo's own flag pole to stab him to death. He probably got blood on his suit from the kill, and ran to Dekapan in a panic, to which they went to the men's fashion shop to get him new clothes."

"I thought we couldn't have accomplices with a murder!" said Totoko.

"The murder was committed without the help of someone else." said Mononeko. "Anything after death is fair game."

"Dekapan took his old suit and tried to tear it up so it couldn't be linked back to Dayon, but he probably didn't count on anyone searching through the hundreds of trash cans around the mall." Todomatsu continued. "Not to mention the scrap I found is brown, the same color as Dayon's suit. Dekapan was willing to give him an alibi and push the blame on me, making everyone think I had done it, but they were to stupid to remember to take the price tag off of Dayon's new suit, and that's just a clear sign that points to all of this being his fault."

"With all of this put together," you said, standing forward. "Dayon is the killer!"

You pointed towards Dayon, he staring at your hand before his entire body started to shake. It wasn't long before streams of tears poured down his cheeks.

"I JUST WANTED TO GO HOME! DAYOOOOOON!" he cried out, reaching over and holding onto Dekapan while the two cried against one another.

"The jury has reached a verdict then?" The feline stood up from his chair, that wicked smile looking like it twisted up even more when he pulled a remote from behind him and smashed his paw down onto it. The ceiling opened up from above as balloons and confetti rained down, along with a banner that rolled down to reveal a message.

 **Dayon has been found**  
✿ **GUILTY!** ✿

Despite the balloons and the confetti falling down, no one else looked happy about the mystery being solved. Everyone just stared in Dayon's direction as he and Dekapan continued to cry against one another. You closed your eyes tightly, stomach once again twisting in knots. You couldn't believe what you had just done. You just sentenced someone to death! Karamatsu must have seen the look of sickness on your face, because he was already at your side, trying to offer at least some kind of comfort.

"ALRIGHT, IT'S TIME FOR EXECUTION! NYAAHAHA!" called out Mononeko throwing the remote into the air with a loud laugh as he held his gut. From the east wing, what looked like several pairs of robotic hands flew out from the shadows, grabbing and latching onto Dayon's face. Fingers dug into the corners of his mouth, bunching his cheeks together while a few other hands grabbed at his arms and legs. He was then ruthlessly ripped from Dekapan's grasp, pulled down the hall as his name echoed out while he was pulled away.

"Come on folks! You'll probably want to see this!" said Mononeko, jumping down from his chair gleefully and following after where the hands had taken their victim. For a moment, no one moved, but eventually they followed after the cat.

 **Execution Style:  
LIMIT STRETCH**

The hands that held Dayon in place locked down, digging into his flesh and leaving the man no chance to escape. Everyone reluctantly watched as the hands started to pull, stretching his mouth wider and wider, both sides relentlessly pulling. You couldn't bear to watch what was going to happen next and turned away just in time as the man's body was split in half, torn clean apart as blood sprayed the air. There were a few screams, several gasps, and the sound of Dekapan crying out filled your ears. You couldn't take this, you couldn't! Your hands gripped at your head and you screamed out from the feeling like your head was going to explode. Karamatsu called out your name as your world felt like it went black and your balance was lost, you probably would have hit the floor if he hadn't been there to catch you.

* * *

Your eyes opened after what felt like days, the feeling of a cool cloth on your forehead gave you a little relief from how hot the rest of your body felt. You groaned and slowly sat up, the cloth falling into your lap as you looked around. Everyone was gather back on the second floor, sitting around and looking just as defeated as you felt. Choromatsu sat with Nyaa-chan and Dekapan, the man was still devastated it seemed. Osomatsu sat with the rest of his brothers, except for Karamatsu, who seemed to be missing. Slowly you pushed yourself to a stand and made your way towards Osomatsu and everyone else, trying to force a smile on your face.

"H-Hey." you squeaked out, causing the four of them to look up towards you.

"How are you feeling?" asked Osomatsu.

"About as well as I can be in a situation like this." you said, reaching to scratch bashfully at the back of your neck. "Where's Karamatsu?"

"Looking for something for us to eat." said Todomatsu, staring down at his phone with his hand against his cheek.

"Todomatsu, I'm sorry I accused you of killing Hatabo." you said, staring at the floor.

"I can't really blame you." he said with a sigh, glancing up from the screen. "It did look like I was the one that did it."

"But, you saved us all."

"Huh?"

You smiled a little more as you brought a hand over your heart while you spoke. "If you hadn't found that evidence, we all would have been dead. You saved all of us when all we were doing was blaming you."

Todomatsu fully looked up from his phone, setting it down in his lap before looking away to try and hide a growing blush on his cheeks.

"He was probably just trying to save himself." Ichimatsu commented offhandedly.

"AH! ICHIMATSU NII-SAN!" Todomatsu screeched out at him.

"He's more than right and you know it." said Osomatsu, deadpan look on his face. Todomatsu hissed out at him almost like a cat while you tried to hide a small bout of laughter from the interaction. It was funny, you had only been with these people for a few days and you were already growing so attached to them.

It made it hurt that much more to think about any one of them could be the next one to die.

There had to be something that you could do to get everyone out of here, but Mononeko had the place locked down tight. You looked up from your thought before looking to Osomatsu, who had his youngest brother in a headlock and squirming around.

"Hey, have we considered maybe trying to find out who's behind all this? Who's behind Mononeko?" you said. The brothers stopped, looking towards you with inquiry on their face.

"You mean the mastermind?" said Osomatsu. You nodded your head quickly, before stopping and holding your head. Looks like you hadn't quite recovered fully yet.

"How are we supposed to juggle finding the mastermind and solving the puzzles?" said Jyushimatsu, an uncommon sight of a frown on his face.

"We'll have a team dedicated to finding out information about Mononeko!" you said, looking over towards Osomatsu and Todomatsu. "Todomatsu, you really showed today that you'd be great at finding information, could you be on the team?"

"Eh? Me?" he asked, blinking a few times.

"Totty's got some detective skills we've never knew a bout!" said Osomatsu, driving his knuckles into his younger brother's head. "You'd be perfect for the team."

"OW OW OW OSOMATSU NII-SAN!"

"Osomatsu, you're really good at keeping everyone together, I think you should be part of it as well." you said, smile on your face. Osomatsu dropped his brother to the floor after that statement, dumb-struck look on his face.

"Wha? Really?"

You nodded in response. "When this all started, you tried to keep everyone calm and all through this game you've kept your cool like nobody's business."

"Heh, I guess so, huh?" said Osomatsu, grinning and running his finger under his nose. He didn't have the heart to tell you that the only reason he was like that was because he was trying to shut out everything else. Just take the compliment and run for it!

"I guess I'll do what I can, though if an entire army of people can't even find the puzzle on this floor, I dunno how great we're gonna do finding out stuff about this cat." said Todomatsu.

Your conversation was interrupted when there was the sudden sound of too large pops and a rain of confetti raining down upon you. Everyone looked up to see Mononeko falling down from above, only to land gracefully on his feet and hold his hands up in the air as he stuck the landing.

"Nyaahaha! Guess what time it is, folks?!"

"Everyone! I have returned with food to nurish the mind and bod- HMPH?!" Karamatsu had returned, bags of groceries hanging on his arms when he was silence by Mononeko smacking tape over his mouth. The man dropped everything to try and pull the tape off while the feline continued to speak.

"That's right, it's time to move on up in the world to floor number three! Having successfully dodged death twice, your reward is getting access to higher opportunities!"

Karamatsu's muffled sounds were drowned out by the familiar explosions of the doors to the next floor opening up, but you brought your own attention back to him and moved over quickly to try and help him get the tape off his mouth.

"The puzzle on the next floor is even harder, so I'm expecting to see some dead bodies around here!" shouted Mononeko before he once again nearly vanished without a trace.

"YEOWCH!" With a quick rip, the tape was pulled off Karamatsu's mouth and his hands smacked over his face when he screamed out. With a sympathetic smile and your eyes closed, you patted and rubbed at his back while he recovered from the sting.

"Come on, Dekapan." said Choromatsu, helping the broken man rise to his feet. He was reluctant, but eventually he stood and walked with him and Nyaa-chan towards the stairs to the next floor. Totoko followed after them after gathering up her own supplies to take with her, which left you and the rest of the brothers to pick up what was left. Jyushimatsu helped Ichimatsu gather up some of the sleeping bags, while Osomatsu and Todomatsu headed for the door. So much for helping everyone else! You supposed that left you to help Karamatsu with the bags of food.

"These are pretty heavy." you said, gathering some of them up on your arms while he did the same for others.

"I picked out only the finest foods for our companions." said Karamatsu, smug grin on his face.

". . . This bag is just instant noodles."

"The finest instant noodles."

You couldn't exactly say he was wrong, since looking in the bag it did show that they were probably the most expensive kind you could get. With a sigh and a shake of your head, you smiled and motioned with your head for Karamatsu to follow. As you made your way up the stairs, he kept insisting on taking the bags you had, but you just kept your arms away from his as you walked.

"It's fine, Karamatsu. I can carry them." you protested, once again moving away as he reached to try and grab the bag.

"But you're still recovering!" he tried to reason. Reaching the top of the stairs, you stopped and turned to face him, causing him to stop just one step away from the top.

"I never got to thank you, by the way." you said with a smile. "So, thanks."

"T-Thank me?" he stammered out.

"For watching out for me, for everyone. You and Osomatsu have been doing a great job of trying to keep everyone in one piece."

Karamatsu looked at you with that same look of confusion he always had, but after a few seconds you could see something building up in the corners of his eyes. Tears?

". . . Karamatsu?"

He didn't answer, instead tried to push those shades against his eyes to hide his expression, but a shaky smile spread over his mouth.

"Thank you for believing in me."

 **MONONEKO MALL  
Mutual Killing Game**

 **Survivors Remaining:  
11**


	5. Sacrifice

Choromatsu smiled at the feeling of grass beneath his feet, eyes cast upwards at the blue sky dotted with clouds while a soft breeze caressed through his hair. These were feelings he had taken advantage of, when he had freedom. He closed eyes as felt the warmth of the sun against his skin, opening them only at the sound of footsteps next to him. At each of his sides were his brothers, smiling like they were on top of the world. They had did it, they had gotten out alive, hadn't they? There was someone that was standing before him, someone that had a forced smile on their face and tears rolling down their cheeks.

"Choromatsu, I'm so glad to have met you." they spoke, fist coming up to their mouth slowly to hide that painful smile behind it. It was you, the world behind you looking like it was falling apart as you spoke. Choromatsu frowned, reaching out towards you and saying your name as he did so. You stepped back, just out of his reach and his eyes widened from the action.

"Wait. . ." he started out, feeling the hands of his brothers on his shoulders.

"Wake up, please." you said, the world around you falling into more disarray.

"WAIT!"

"Choromatsu, wake up!"

"Choromatsu-nyaa! Wake up please!"

The third oldest brother was suddenly jarred from the dream turned nightmare, eyes snapping open to stare up at the sight of Nyaa-chan hovering over him. Instantly his entire body blushed and he froze as he stared up at her, words escaping him.

"Oh good, you were having a nightmare." she said with a sigh and sat back on her legs, hand against her chest. Choromatsu sat up quickly and looked around at the dark surroundings. Everyone else was asleep still.

"N-Nyaa-chan, what wrong?" he asked, voice cracking a little from his nervousness. Nyaa-chan had woken him up! FROM A NIGHTMARE! NYAA-CHAN WAS REALLY CLOSE TO HIM!

"I wanted to talk to you, ask you some things. Will you come with me?" she stared down at her lap, hands absent of the paw gloves she normally wore.

Choromatsu normally would have been a smart thinker and decline going off with someone by himself, but this was Nyaa-chan! And she wanted to talk to him! ALONE! Choromatsu didn't even hesitate. He sat stood himself up right away and nodded his head like it would snap off if he kept going. Nyaa-chan looked up at him before standing as well, a single nod coming from her before she motioned for him to follow quietly.

The third floor had already been thoroughly explored by this point, they had already been here for a few days and once again had failed to find any sign of a puzzle, but there was also an absence of Mononeko. This caused a bit of stagnant ease among the group. Nyaa-chan brought Choromatsu to one of the few benches that resided in mall and sat down, patting the seat beside her with a smile. Like an obedient pet, Choromatsu sat beside her with no time to waste.

"Do you think we'll get out of here?" she suddenly asked, looking at him with a bit of worry on her face.

"Eh? Of course Nyaa-chan!" he said with that classic smile of his. "Mononeko hasn't been pushing us lately so that's giving us more time to find the puzzle."

"But we don't even know how many floors are here! We might be at this for years at this rate." said Nyaa-chan, bringing her hands up to cover her face. "I don't want to be stuck in this mall for the rest of my life, Choromatsu-nyaa!"

Choromatsu's eyes widened as she leaned against him and started to quietly sob against his chest, holding onto him tightly. Oh god, she was touching him. She was using him as moral support! If he could get anymore red, he'd probably become a tomato. He awkwardly brought his arms up to hug around her and she leaned into him more, causing Choromatsu to close his eyes in a look of bliss. He was hugging a girl! NYAA-CHAN OF ALL GIRLS! He probably shouldn't have been feeling like this, considering she was confiding in him, but he couldn't help but relish the moment. He had a girl in his arms, it felt like a long term goal had finally been accomplished.

"I can't take this game anymore." she finally pulled herself away from his chest and rubbed her arm against her eyes to soak up the tears. "I want out. . ."

"Nyaa-chan. . ." Choromatsu muttered out, his attention focused away from his own inner thoughts and now on her.

". . . I know what I want to do, but I'm scared to do it alone."

"Huh?"

"Please, Choromatsu-nyaa. Will you die with me?"

Choromatsu felt like his heart stopped and leaped up into his throat. ". . . D-Die with you? Like a suicide pact?"

Nyaa-chan nodded her head slowly before leaning in closer to him. "We're not getting out of here, I don't want to see anyone else die. I think . . . this is for the best."

He didn't have a chance to give an answer, because the next thing he knew, her lips were against his in a kiss. Eyes wide, he went completely ridged before it felt like he was melting. Her lips were soft and she smelled so nice despite the fact that none of them had actually had a chance to shower since being trapped here. Some probably used the sinks in the bathrooms. His eyes eventually closed along with hers and he tried everything he could to make it look like he had some experience in this. Head tilted, he started out sweet, but her tongue thrust into his unprepared mouth and Choromatsu jerked a little in surprise.

This had gotten more heated than he was ready for. He was shaking and his hands were already sweating like crazy as they tugged on the back of her jacket. Was this going where he thought it was? HOW DID HE GET THIS- Oh, she pulled away. He panted out softly as his eyes opened to look at her, searching her face for any kind of meaning. She was serious about this. His eyes cast down, hands moving into his lap for obvious reasons. There was a long pause, the silence almost deafening, but he finally spoke up, smiling as he looked at her.

"You're right, Nyaa-chan. I . . . don't want to see anyone else die either."

"Y-You'll do it? Ah! Choromatsu-nyaa!" Nyaa-chan cried out with glee. "I'll repay you before we do it. One last favor before we free ourselves!"

He could already imagine what it could be, a bit of blood trickling down from his nose.

"Meet me back here in an hour, we'll do it then!" said Nyaa-chan, kissing his cheek softly before getting up and rushing off towards the door that lead to the floors below. Choromatsu watched her with a dreamy look before urging himself to get up and head back to where everyone else was sleeping. All he had to do was wait an hour and he could be blissfully with Nyaa-chan for the rest of his life, which probably wasn't going to be very long at this rate.

* * *

Choromatsu had returned to the place Nyaa-chan had requested, but after waiting for 3 hours, he was starting to come to the conclusion that she wasn't going to show. Had she gone and done it without him after all? He began looking everywhere for her, but eventually gave up. He had been stood up, by Nyaa-chan no less. It kind of hurt knowing that his idol had decided he wasn't worthy to take with her after all. Not to mention he was left something else that he was going to have to use his namesake to take care of later. He returned to bed, his thoughts still buzzing around Nyaa-chan, until he was suddenly jarred awake.

"ATTENTION SHOPPERS! A BODY HAS BEEN FOUND!" Mononeko's voice rang out over the intercom. "Please report to the scene of the crime for farther investigation!"

Choromatsu felt like his heart dropped down into the pit of his stomach as Mononeko told everyone where the body had been found, a few others sitting up as well, looking towards where the sound was coming from. No, it couldn't be. He ripped himself from his sleeping bag and ran for the area, panic in his eyes. Not her. Anyone but her!

"NYAA-CHAN!"

His vision shook as he came upon the site, Nyaa-chan's body laying on the ground a pool of blood around her head while it looked like the side of her head had been cracked open. Choromatsu's eyes welled up with tears as he knelt down beside her body, reaching and grabbing for her hand.

"NYAA-CHAN! NYAA-CHAAAAN!"

You eventually arrived with everyone else, stopping just moments from where Choromatsu was on the ground.

"Well lookie here!" said Mononeko as he pushed through the crowd. "Aww, this is a shame. I liked her!"

". . . This is YOUR FAULT!" Choromatsu snapped out at the cat, causing him to take a step back.

"Woah! Sensitive aren't you?" Mononeko waved his paws in front of him, a nervous expression on his face.

"She wouldn't have had to die if you didn't have us here!" Choromatsu wailed, holding Nyaa-chan's body close against his own before sobbing over her. You wanted to say something but with his hysterical state, right now didn't seem like the best time.

"Well anyway you probably shouldn't be messing with the body. People gotta investigate the murder, you know?" said Mononeko.

Choromatsu looked down at her lifeless body in his arms and gently laid her back down, eyes hidden by the shadow of his hair. He was going to find out who did this. He would make sure that he found out so they could pay for taking Nyaa-chan away from him.

"Don't worry, Nyaa-chan. I'll find out who did this, even if I have to do it myself." he muttered to himself before coming to a stand. The look he gave the group of survivors was so cold you could feel the chill roll down your spine from his glare alone. He wasn't happy at all.

"Choromatsu, we can help you know." you said, one hand coming up to rest on his shoulder. "We need to work as a team-"

"You're all suspects until I find the real one." he growled, pushing your hand and leaning away from you. "I'll find her killer on my own if need be."

You stared in shock as he already marched off, even Mononeko looked just as surprised as everyone else. The cat brought a paw up to his mouth before turning his attention up to you, and you just shrugged your shoulders. You had never seen Choromatsu with his mind so set on something, even with the short time you had known him. In investigations he had somewhat of a drive, but never like this.

"Well, I guess we better look at the body while he's away, or the idjit might snap at us." said Chibita. You turned your attention to look at Osomatsu, who just stared down at Nyaa-chan's body with his hands in the pocket of his hoodie. Looks like he was back to his whole pessimistic outlook again.

"Osomatsu, maybe you can calm him down." you suggested with a smile. He looked up from staring down at the body before glancing off in the direction Choromatsu had stormed off.

"He'll work this out on his own." he muttered out, walking off opposite of the direction his brother went. He left you with his younger brothers, who all watched him wander off.

Dekapan looked over the body, estimating that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to her head. She had been hit with an object three times before she went down, little fight was put up. More than likely she had been attacked by surprise. The murder weapon had been found not far from the scene of the crime, a baseball bat from the sports store on the second floor, covered in blood and bits of Nyaa-chan's hair, so it was definitely the weapon used, no questions asked. However suspects were still something that was eluding everyone.

Nyaa-chan had a rivalry with Totoko, but it was nothing for her to murder someone over. The idol had gotten along with almost everyone here, so there wasn't any reason for anyone to kill her other than the motive of potential freedom. You had everything but a suspect. Karamatsu was doing his best to keep his brothers relatively calm, even if it really wasn't needed. Ichimatsu's only problem was the pain his injury was causing him, but Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu were making sure he was comfortable for the time being.

"We better hope that shitty NEET finds what he's looking for, or else we might as well all be dead after this trial." said Totoko, defeat on her face.

"I'm positive we'll find the culprit." you said, trying to keep at least a little positivity. "We have some of the best people still with us!"

"TIMES UP!" Mononeko's voice called out over the intercom after an hour was spent. "Everyone please report to the first floor for the trial! Also, since we're getting pretty high up in the building here, I've opened the elevator for easy access to the current floors! You can find them at the end of each wing if you're hanging out on any of the floors above! See ya soon, nyaahaha!"

Choromatsu had never come back to the investigation with everyone else, so it wasn't a surprise to see him already at the trial when you and everyone else arrived. He was already standing in place next to the death portrait of Nyaa-chan, eyes downcast and nearly hidden from that same shadow his hair placed over them. This trial was going to be the hardest one yet, without a clear suspect, it didn't seem like there was a winning chance.

Everyone took their place and Mononeko sat upright in his chair, tapping his claws together in front of his face.

"Are we ready then? Did you guys get some good clues? PRESENT YOUR CASE!"

Everyone looked to each other as if silently asking who was going to be the one to start, but those thoughts were interrupted when Choromatsu cleared his throat, bringing up his phone and tapping his finger over the screen. You had almost forgotten that any clues anyone finds was automatically added to the Mononeko Files.

"According to body investigation," he began. "the time of Nyaa-chan's death was sometime after 2 AM. She was found outside of the medical store on the first floor, three points of blunt force trauma to her head. From the angle she fell, she was trying to enter the store, the first hit was where the skull meets the spine. The second hit was against the top of her skull, and the final and third blow was dealt to the side of her head, killing her instantly. The weapon used was a baseball bat from the second floor sports shop, found not far from the place of the murder. There doesn't seem to be a clear suspect, but I believe I already know who it is."

Mononeko's ears perked while everyone else stared with wide eyes. He already found out the killer?

"Based on all the evidence we've collected, the killer has to be . . . JYUSHIMATSU!" Choromatsu called out, pointing his finger towards his own brother.

"EH?! WHAT?!" Jyushimatsu took a step back, arm defensively in front of him.

"The weapon was a baseball bat, Jyushimatsu loves baseball and he was trying to get into the sports shop with Totoko before. How could it be anyone else?!"

"What reason would Jyushimatsu have to murder your stupid pop idol?!" Ichimatsu snapped out, glaring at his brother.

"To save himself and get out of here of course! Nyaa-chan was defenseless and prime target!" Choromatsu tried to push his point, glaring at his brothers. "B-Besides, all we brothers do is drag each other down, why would it be any different in here?!"

"Choromatsu nii-san." Todomatsu huffed out. "Your accusations are only based on your emotions right now. It only seems like it was Jyushimatsu because the murder weapon was a bat. Anyone can swing one of those with the intent to kill someone.

"SO IT COULD BE YOU!" Choromatsu snapped out. Todomatsu leaned back, a look of clear disgust on his face.

"Why would I kill anyone? Wait, are you ACCUSING ME AGAIN?!"

The brothers began to argue, Choromatsu finding reasons to accuse any and all of them. Karamatsu watched with a look of helplessness, it was true that his brother was basing everything on his wildly fluctuating emotions. He wasn't thinking clearly and was trying to grasp at any solution he could find. You glanced over towards Karamatsu and watched as he repeatedly tried to say something to break up the fights, but every time he was about to, he fell back into silence.

"Choromatsu." you finally spoke up, causing the brothers to look in your direction. "You have to calm down or else you're going to get us all killed."

"I _**AM**_ CALM!" he shouted in response, clearly quite the opposite. You couldn't tell if he was shaking out of anger, sadness, but either way, he was having a hard time controlling anything about him.

"Choro-" Karamatsu began.

"SHUT UP KARAMATSU! EVEN I KNOW YOU DIDN'T DO IT!" Choromatsu screamed before turning his attention down to the floor, holding the sides of his head. "One of you did though. ONE OF YOU KILLED MY BEAUTIFUL NYAA-CHAN!"

"You shitty NEET! Snap out of it!" Totoko growled out at him, getting ready to head over to beat some sense into him, but she stopped once she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Oh?"

Choromatsu was still a mess as he tried to reason what had happened, the hand that had been placed on Totoko's shoulder fell off as footsteps fast approached the hysterical man. By the time Choromatsu actually noticed, he was grabbed by the front of his shirt, looking face to face with Osomatsu with wide, tear filled eyes.

"That's enough, Choromatsu." Osomatsu said, staring him in the eyes with a hard gaze.

"Let go of me!" the younger brother snapped out, trying to pull himself out of the grip his older brother had on him. "YOU PROBABLY DID IT, HUH?!"

". . . You got me."

Everyone went absolutely silent.

". . . W-What?" said Choromatsu, stunned.

Osomatsu dropped his brother from his grip and stood back, smile on his face. "You're right. You found the killer. Good job."

"OSOMATSU?!" Everyone else rang out. Osomatsu looked up from the floor, a look of exhaustion present.

". . . Choromatsu is stupid when he's around pretty girls. I woke up and saw that he was talking to Nyaa-chan, so I followed to see where she was taking him."

* * *

Osomatsu's grip on the wall tightened as he heard those words, his teeth tightly grit within his jaw. Did she really just ask him to do a suicide pact? Surely Choromatsu was smarter than that, right? He was supposed to be the straight-man of the siblings. Of course he'd have to suffer watching a disgusting make out session between the two before Choromatsu gave his final answer. That idiot. Osomatsu should have known better, he just got stupid when he was around pretty girls. Of course he'd agree to dying with his idol.

"You dumbass." Osomatsu muttered out before pushing away from the corner as his brother started to head off. Something was going to have to be done. Once Choromatsu passed, he followed in the direction Nyaa-chan had wandered off to. He kept a bit of distance between them, moved silently but stopped on the second floor while she continued down to the first. He was going to need something to finish this with. In the window of the sports shop, a mannequin was wearing a baseball uniform with a bat resting under it's hand. Osomatsu stared at it for a long while before moving forward into the store, grabbing what he needed.

It's not like he wanted to do this, but if he didn't his brother would more than willingly go through with it. Talking to him wasn't going to stop him, so the only thing to do was to cut out the motivation. When he got to the first floor, Nyaa-chan was standing outside the gated medical shop, peering in through the bars to see if she could find a way in without breaking the rules. So she was planning to overdose them both? Did she even know what she was doing? Osomatsu grit his teeth as he watched her, hand gripping tight around the metal of the bat he carried. He calmly stepped forward, moving the bat behind him as he approached, footsteps nearly silent, but when he was a few steps behind her, she caught sight of his figure.

"Oh, Osomatsu nya- HNK!" She had started to turn around to greet him, but the bat was swung and nailed her against the back of her head. Blood flew from her mouth as she fell forward, hitting the ground with a sickening thud. Her vision blurred in and out as she tried to look behind her, seeing the man looking over her with the baseball bat gripped in both hands.

"Choromatsu doesn't understand what he's agreeing to." said Osomatsu, eyes narrowed down at her. "He can't think when he's with cute girls, so this is the only way to save him."

"N-No, wait- GAK!" Another swing of the bat, he cracked it down onto the top of her head this time, making more blood ooze from her mouth from her biting her tongue.

"I know what's going to happen and . . . I'm prepared for it." One more swing, the end of the bat connected right to her temple, killing her with the last hit. When the blood started to flow, Osomatsu backed up and out of the way of the forming puddle, tossing the bat to the side and letting it roll off to wherever. It didn't matter to him if he got caught, because if he did, at least this sacrifice wouldn't be for nothing.

* * *

The entire room was silent as everyone stared at Osomatsu, the eldest brother just smiling with closed eyes and a sheepish grin like it wasn't a big deal. The one who was in the most shock though, was Choromatsu. He stared at his brother with wide eyes as he replayed the story in his head. He killed her . . . to save him from making a bad decision. The more he thought about it, the more the tears started to build up in his eyes.

Osomatsu had saved him by sacrificing himself.

"Why?" asked Choromatsu, staring at Osomatsu with those tears spilling out over his cheeks.

"Because you're smart." said Osomatsu, reaching out and wiping those tears away with his own sleeve. "Everyone here needs you a lot more than they need me."

"That's not true!" the younger brother tried to retort. "We . . . we all need you!"

Osomatsu just shook his head with that ever present smile, standing back and pushing his hands into the pocket of his hoodie.

"Well, that's a confession if I've ever heard one!" rang out Mononeko, pulling out that black boxed remote. "Final verdict?!"

" **NO!** "

Mononeko looked towards Choromatsu as he cried out, grabbing onto his brother's shoulders and holding him in place.

"Take me . . . TAKE ME INSTEAD! _**PLEASE!**_ "

The eldest brother looked down at Choromatsu as the man buried his head against his chest and cried into it. The last thing he could do was maybe offer his little brother some kind of comfort, and his arms slowly closed around him as he closed his eyes again with that peaceful smile.

"I would but, you didn't commit a murder!" said Mononeko in a singsong voice. "It's time for FINAL JUDGMENT!"

The cat laughed out and smacked his paw down onto the button, the ceiling bursting open with confetti and balloons, along with a banner unfurling among them.

 **Osomatsu has been found**  
✿ **GUILTY!** ✿

You couldn't believe your eyes, you couldn't believe your ears. You watched as the rest of his brothers tore away from their posts to join Choromatsu in holding onto him. Your heart felt shattered.

"Osomatsu nii-san!" Todomatsu wailed out, Jyushimatsu holding into him with all the strength he had, and Ichimatsu clung to his arm, tears spilling from his only good eye. Karamatsu was at his other side, tears streaming down his own cheeks before he blinked at the feeling of Osomatsu's hand on his head.

"You're the oldest now, take care of them." said Osomatsu. Karamatsu stared up at him, eyes getting larger with those tears.

The sound of whirring clicks started up, those hands coming out from the shadows and grabbing hold of Osomatsu's shoulders, arms and legs. They began to pull, but was having a difficult time thanks to the additional weight of the rest of the brothers. It was a struggle, but the hand eventually won out, ripping the brother away from everyone else. As he was pulled back, Osomatsu's mouth moved in three words, a single tear falling from his eyes when he vanished into the darkness.

" **OSOMATSU!** " Choromatsu screamed out, reaching over his brothers that tried to hold him back to avoid him getting dragged away as well.

"Eugh, this is kinda gross." said Mononeko, hopping off his chair and heading off towards the execution chamber.

 **Execution Style:  
PACHINKO PARLOR**

A spotlight suddenly opened up on a giant pachinko machine, Osomatsu made to stand in one of the catchers of the machine. The lights along the top turned on along with a small tune playing signaling the start of the game. A large mechanical hand reached to pull back to plunger before releasing it, sending the pachinko balls out onto the playing field. Osomatsu looked up, watching as several large steel balls began to fall above him, clinking against the pegs, falling down closer and closer. He gulped as some got closer, some just missed. It there was a time he didn't want to win at this game, now would probably be a good time!

The hand made a kind of annoyed gesture and launched more, steel death raining down once more. The color started to leave his face as one of the balls knocked against the pegs, getting closer and closer to the destination where he stood. Two more drops. Clink! Clink! The shadow of the ball took over his entire body as he stared up at it, then brought his gaze down, one last smile before the ball landed in the catcher, crushing Osomatsu underneath it.

The winner alarm sounded off as more pachinko balls fell from the cashout basket before the spotlight faded out.

 **MONONEKO MALL  
Mutual Killing Game**

 **Remaining Survivors:  
9**


	6. The Beginning of the End

"Oh god . . . OH GOD!"

Ichimatsu fell to his knees as he grabbed his head, eye wide and body shaking as he stared dead at the floor. You quickly rushed to his side to join the remaining brothers in trying to calm him down. Everyone else remained back, but it was clear to see that they were suffering just as the rest of you were. Ichimatsu let out a tortured scream that rang out through the execution chamber, latching himself onto Karamatsu finally as his older brother forcefully dragged him into his arms.

"Well, when you guys are all done crying, the fourth floor has been opened! Isn't that great?!" Mononeko said with that trademark laugh. "You guys are moving right along! Don't even need those silly puzzles!"

This wasn't the time for stupid jokes, but the cat seemed to be laughing up a storm at his own. Rolling around on the floor and holding his gut, Mononeko didn't get a chance to even notice that you stormed over to him. His eye snapped open just in time to see your fist make contact with the middle of his face, you punched with all the strength you had. You didn't care if your countdown would tick, the brothers were in mourning!

"Oh-" the cat began, an intense beeping heard from his body. It got faster until it was a long sustained sound, then his body simply . . . exploded. You were tossed back from the force, screaming out as pieces of metal and wire cut into your skin, then another sound rose up, a familiar one that signaled the breaking of a rule. You looked down at the bracelet as the number knocked down to 2, and within a moment you felt the jarring pain of electricity coursing through your body, until everything went black.

* * *

It felt like you were floating, nothing else mattered and you were carelessly floating within water while you stared up at a blue sky. It was only when you heard a familiar voice saying your name did you sit up, looking to see a beach ahead of you, and standing on it was. . .

". . . Osomatsu?"

"Hey." Osomatsu grinned a little, standing in the sand with his toes buried into it. "Isn't this place great? A warm, sunny beach and all the pachinko I could ever want to play!"

You stared up at him while his eyes locked onto yours, you could feel the heat of tears building up before your bottom lip trembled and you stood up from the water, rushing towards him and throwing your arms around him.

"OSOMATSU!" you wailed out against his chest, he jerking a little in surprise before letting his arms go around you in a gentle hug.

"You're not supposed to be crying, you know." he said with a light laugh. "Everything's fine."

"Who's crying?" Another familiar voice popped up, causing you to lift your head from Osomatsu's chest. "Me didn't die to hear someone wailing!"

"IYAMI!" you cried out. Looking towards him, you saw everyone else as well starting to come onto the beach. Shounosuke, Hatabo, Dayon, Nyaa-chan. You could hardly see thanks to all the tears building up.

"WHAT?!" Iyami yelped out when you pulled away from Osomatsu to hug onto him, the tall man staring down at you while his arms hung uselessly in the air like he wasn't sure what to do.

"You guys are all here!" you cried out, holding onto him tighter. "You're all here!"

"Of course we're here, where else would me be, zansu?!" said Iyami. He finally relented and tried to give you a few pats on the back as a way of saying thanks for the affection. You finally let go of him, using your arm to wipe away your own tears.

"I was . . . so sure I'd never see any of you again." you sniffled out.

"You really shouldn't be seeing us at all." said Osomatsu, bringing his hand up to muss up your hair.

"If they can see us, does that mean. . ." said Nyaa-chan, looking to you with a worried expression.

"Oh no, that can't be, jo!" Hatabo said with a frown.

"Nah, they're fine." said Osomatsu, smile back on his face. "They're just visiting."

You tore yourself away from Iyami to face Osomatsu once more, eyes still blurred with the tears that didn't seem to stop. The older brother just smiled and like he had done with Choromatsu, he used the sleeve of his hoodie to wipe your tears away.

"Don't cry for us." he said. "It's not so bad here, really."

"Osomatsu . . . your brothers. . ." you babbled out in between hiccups.

"They'll be fine. I know Karamatsu will take good care of them."

"I'm so sorry this had to happen. . ."

"It's not your fault. I knew what I was getting into when I did it."

You looked between Osomatsu and Nyaa-chan, who stood there smiling like nothing had even happened.

"Are you . . . ?" you began.

"It's okay, nyaa!" said Nyaa-chan, hands coming together in front of her chest. "I don't blame Osomatsu-nyaa for what he did. I wasn't thinking clearly and I wanted an easy way out. I shouldn't have tried to take his brother with me."

Your eyes snapped back and forth between them, looking at everyone who stood on the beach with you. The sounds of the waves against the shore, the cry of sea gulls overhead, it was becoming an overwhelming sensation. You didn't want to go back to that other world. You wanted to stay here with everyone you missed. With Osomatsu. You tried not to let the tears fall again, but once more you stood there, starting to cry. Osomatsu took a few steps forward and pulled you in for another hug, looking to everyone else with a smile and a gentle sigh.

"You can't stay here for much longer." he said, petting his hand down the back of your head. "I need you to look after my brothers in my place, alright?"

"But Karamatsu-" you started to speak, but Osomatsu pulled away, turning you to face him.

"I trust Karamatsu will do a great job, but he needs someone to help him stand. You need to be his support, so that's why you can't stay here. Promise me that you'll do what you can."

"Osomatsu. . ."

"You better get going before it's too late." said Osomatsu, stepping back and grinning wide as he rubbed his finger under his nose.

"Osomatsu!" You cried out as you could feel the waves trying to pull you back into the water, tugging at your ankles, pulling the sand from underneath your feet. You watched as everyone started to wave farewell, even Iyami who looked on longingly with tears in his eyes.

No, not yet!

You weren't ready yet!

You reached to try and grab onto something, anything! Your body ended up being pulled away, plunged into the darkness of water as Osomatsu's face blurred when the water took over.

* * *

It felt like you had been drowning, so when your eyes snapped open, you gasped out to draw in as much air as you could before coughing out. Karamatsu was already by your side, helping you sit up as you got everything out of your system. It looked like everyone had already migrated to the 4th floor, and your wounds from the earlier explosion had been properly dressed, probably thanks to Dekapan. However from the looks of it, everyone else wasn't over Osomatsu's death either.

Todomatsu had calmed down, but his normal demeanor was replaced with an ever constant look of sorrow. Choromatsu looked worse for wear, eyes red from his own crying and his gaze glued to the floor. Even Jyushimatsu, who looked happy no matter the situation, didn't even have a smile on his face. Ichimatsu was nowhere to be found

"Are you okay?" Karamatsu's voice finally broke the silence, and you looked up to him with uneasy eyes.

"I'm . . . fine." you said, though you could still see the look of concern on his face. You thought about telling him about what had happened while you were out, but the wound of losing Osomatsu was extremely fresh. Telling them you had seen him, even if it was just a dream, probably wouldn't be a good idea right now. Slowly you tried to get to your feet, Karamatsu helping you up and giving you a shoulder to lean on to maintain your balance. Osomatsu's words replayed in your head as you looked over his brothers, to Dekapan, Chibita, and Totoko. You had to take care of everyone else, you had to help Karamatsu stand. Your eyes closed and you took a deep breath, reaching with your arm to run it across your forehead.

It was time to end this, before you lost anyone else you cared about.

"Everyone!" you raised your voice to get everyone's attention, to which only a few looked up. "I . . . I don't want to lose anyone else here, we need to work together to find a way out of here before anyone else dies-"

Everyone jumped at the sound of a gunshot going off somewhere on one of the floors below.

"EH?!"

". . . Ichimatsu!" Karamatsu called out, gathering the attention of everyone else.

"What?" you gasped out. Weren't using guns against the rules? Did he kill someone? Wait . . . everyone else was here. It took a moment to set in, everyone was already running off to the elevator before you finally caught on.

No.

NO!

You quickly ran to try and catch up, nearly tripping but Karamatsu grabbed your hand and kept you upright before tugging you along with him. Everyone got in the elevator, but once inside it was a little cramped and you weren't sure what floor to go to. The buttons on the elevator were blank except for the floors you had already unlocked.

"W-Which floor do we pick?" you stammered out.

"Start from the bottom! We don't have time to waste!" called out Totoko, trying to reach around Dekapan to hit the ground floor button. Chibita managed to hit it instead, and the elevator made a sudden drop, causing your stomach to flip flop. As if the feeling of DESPAIR wasn't bad enough. The elevator was fast, and you were on the ground floor in moments, the doors opening up and everyone pushing their way out.

"Everyone spread out and check all the wings!" You called out, pointing off as pairs started to head out. You were left with Chibita after everyone had split off, and quickly you headed towards the north wing, the same one that the outdoors shop was on. On your way down, the both of you checked all the shops, seeing if Ichimatsu was in any of them, but no such luck. It wasn't until you both got to the outdoors shop did you catch sight of a purple hoodie from within.

Rushing inside, you found Ichimatsu reloading a rifle with shaky hands, a hole blown into the display case behind him. He . . . he tried to kill himself!

" **ICHIMATSU!** " you cried out, rushing up to him with Chibita quickly following behind.

"YOU DAMN IDJIT! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" snapped out Chibita. Ichimatsu looked at the both of you with that one eye before placing the barrel of the gun under his chin.

"I can't take this anymore. . ." he spoke with a shaky voice. "I can't TAKE IT ANYMORE!"

"W-wait!" you stammered out, hands reaching forward but stopped right before you reached him. You didn't want to do anything to push him over the edge. "Ichimatsu just think about it for a moment! You don't need to kill yourself, we'll get out of here!"

It was an empty promise, but it had to work!

"What's the point?" he whined out, shaking hand lowering towards the trigger. "I don't want to see my brothers die. I can't handle it! I don't want to see anyone else die!"

" _Please!_ You don't have to do this!" you exclaimed, heart leaping into your throat.

"Knock it off!" shouted Chibita, reaching for the shotgun to try and pull it away from Ichimatsu. If he wasn't going to put it down on his own, he'd make him! But he didn't expect Ichimatsu to put up a fight, struggling to keep his grip on the gun. Chibita grit his teeth, pulling harder while Ichimatsu continued to resist.

"Ichimatsu, let go!" the small man snarled out.

"You let go!"

"Please be caref- !"

 **BANG**.

Your eyes widened as the air was sprayed with blood, bone, and gray matter, showering down onto you and coating you with Ichimatsu's blood and bits. You were stunned into a paralyzed shock as the blood rolled down your face and Ichimatsu's lifeless body fell to the ground. Chibita stared with his own wide eyed look as his pinky slowly fell from the trigger of the shotgun, dropping the gun fully as the melody played from his bracelet.

"I'm sor-" he couldn't finish his sentence before the electric shock took over him and the countdown on his wrist lowered to 2.

"No. . . No no no no!" You finally found your voice, your body moved to bring your hands up, watching as the blood dripped down your skin. Your eyes slid towards Ichimatsu's body, laying with his mouth agape and his gaze staring upwards, or what was left of it. The struggle to get him to let go of the gun had cause Chibita's hand to slip and hit the trigger, shooting Ichimatsu in the head. You shook out of fear, sorrow, you didn't even notice that everyone else had come running from the sound of the gun going off a second time.

You slowly turned your head to see Jyushimatsu staring down at his brother's body, pupils almost gone from his eyes.

"Jyushimatsu. . ." you said his name, as if that was going to help him any, but he just stood there, unresponsive.

"ATTENTION SHOPPERS, A BODY HAS BEEN- Oh, you guys are already there!" Mononeko's voice crackled over the intercom, eventually the cat showing himself to the scene with some huffs and puffs.

"W-What are you doing here?" you wheezed out. "I thought you blew up!"

"Yeah, that was pretty nuts, wasn't it? Nyaahaha!" Mononeko laughed out before looking over the scene, making a small sound at the presence of all this blood and body bits. "Yeesh, this is a mess here. We'll have to get a clean up on aisle 8!"

"Wait, you can't seriously be making a trial out of this!" you suddenly snapped out. "It was an accident!"

"No need for a trial!" said the cat, looking up to you with the sinister side of his face. "You were a clear witness to the murder!"

"N-No, . . . I-I-"

Mononeko pulled out that remote, slamming his paw down onto it before staring up at the ceiling as there was a bit of mechanical sounds coming from above, then the ceiling of the store burst open to let those balloons and confetti fall down, along with the banner of guilt.

 **Chibita has been found**  
✿ **GUILTY!** ✿

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!" you screamed out, watching those hands come from what seemed like nowhere and pick up Chibita's unconscious body. You just acted, you reached forward, grabbing onto Chibita's hand before he was pulled and used him to pull yourself closer to the hands latching onto his body. You felt yourself pulled along with him as everyone shouted your name, vanishing into the darkness of the execution chamber.

 **Execution Style:**

 **WORLD FAMOUS ODEN**

Everything was so incredibly dark, you didn't know if you were even near the floor or not, but the moment the spotlight turned on, you realized you were no longer holding onto Chibita, and instead you were wrapped in chains, hanging down from the ceiling. Where was he? Chibita was tied to a pole, his body dressed to look like oden as steam rose up from above him. It caused his eyes to flutter open after a few moments, looking down at the giant pot of oden below him.

"What the hell?!" shouted Chibita as he started to struggle while one of those mechanical hands turned the heat higher.

"CHIBITA!" your voice broke through as you screamed his name, causing him to look up to where you were hanging. "I KNOW YOU DIDN'T MEAN IT! YOU WERE ONLY TRYING TO STOP HIM!"

Sweat started to build on his forehead as he looked back down at the boiling pot, oh. He was . . . being executed?! He looked back up to you in a panic as you worked your arms free of the chains that bound you, it was a lot of friction against your skin, but you had a promise to keep. The chain unfurled once it was no longer containing your body and you used it to slide down beside him. It didn't quite reach, but if you could just stretch yourself enough. . . The heat from the boiling below was covering your hands in sweat, making it difficult to hold onto the chains. You had to do this, you promised!

Your hand grasped against the rope that kept Chibita to the pole, fingers trying to curl around it. There was a snap, you glanced up to see the rope that had been holding Chibita broke and you felt the ones binding him slip from your fingers. You watched helplessly as his body plummeted downward, into the giant pot of oden. All you could do was scream his name after the splash happened. Within a few moments, Chibita was boiled alive.

You clung to the chain as you watched with horror on your face, grip tight against the chain until you heard the familiar tune come from your bracelet. You broke a rule? You quickly looked down at the bracelet, the reason flashing for a few moments; 'Interfering with an Execution.' blipped a few times before the 2 rolled down to 1. At least you were prepared for the shock this time, the bracelet releasing the volts of electricity that caused your body to go ridged and blacked out. Your body slipped from the chain and the spotlight faded, causing the darkness to shroud the area again.

* * *

You felt yourself drop down, instead of landing in boiling broth however, you unexpectedly hit solid ground which caused you to crumple to the floor. You were tucked in on yourself, and when you slowly uncurled after becoming conscious again, you could see you were back with everyone else. You stared ahead at the floor until you felt tears welling up again. You couldn't stop it, the crying that started without any volunteer of your own. Why did everyone have to keep dying? There had to be another way to stop all this.

"Attention shoppers! The fifth floor is now available! You can gain access to the fifth floor elevators now as well!

You could hardly hear what Mononeko had to say, over your own wailing voice, he might as well have been on mute. Karamatsu was doing his best to try and offer comfort, your hands suddenly reaching up to cling to him. Not this one. No one was taking this one.

"Shh, it's okay." Karamatsu murmured in a surprisingly soothing voice. His hand ran up and down your back in more desperate attempts to get you to calm. "Tell us what happened when you can."

"I-Ichimatsu . . . was going to kill himself." you whimpered out. "H-He was nervous, the first shot missed. We found him when he was reloading and tried to convince him not to do it. C-Chibita tried to take the gun away from him and accidentally hit the trigger. . ."

Everyone around you tried to listen to your tale before you started bawling again, Karamatsu looked over your shoulder towards Jyushimatsu who was knelt over Ichimatsu's body, large tears rolling down his cheeks. Todomatsu and Choromatsu were beside him, ready to give comfort when the second youngest started to cry along with your own sobs.

This had to stop. This had to stop now.

Dekapan brought a blanket from one of the aisles and laid it over Ichimatsu's body so they didn't have to see the damage anymore, while Totoko joined the brothers in trying to soothe Jyushimatsu. Karamatsu simply looked on at his mourning brothers, his grip on you tightening as you could feel his fingers digging lightly into your back. It caused your cries to quickly die down.

"Totty." he suddenly broke the tension in the air, causing Todomatsu to glance over from his attempts at calming Jyushimatsu.

"What is it, Karamatsu nii-san?"

"I need your help if we want to end this once and for all."

 **MONONEKO MALL  
Mutual Killing Game**

 **Survivors Remaining:**  
 **7**


	7. IT CANNOT BE STOPPED

"Huuuh?!"

Todomatsu blinked as Karamatsu tried to explain his reasoning again, it was probably a little cramped since you all were sitting in the girl's restroom. The restrooms seemed to be the only area that wasn't equipped with surveillance technology.

"Buraza, your talent with technology is remarkable! You know more about it than anyone else here! We need that knowledge to unlock the rest of the floors on the elevators!" Karamatsu pleaded with him.

"We know that there's more floors because of how many buttons there are." you said, trying to help Karamatsu with his explanation of his plan. "They're not labeled unless we unlock the floors to gain access to them, but if we can use the phone to our advantage, we might be able to unlock access to all the floors."

"How's the phone going to help with the elevator?" asked Todomatsu, brows furrowed as he tried to comprehend what you and Karamatsu were going for.

"The phone is probably connected to the system that runs this building. If we can get into that system, we can probably unlock the rest of the floors and get to the top to get out of here!"

"Why are you asking me? Dekapan is the inventor, he probably would be a better choice!"

"We never said you were doing this alone." you said, stepping aside to show that Dekapan had been hunched down behind you, looking to Todomatsu expectantly while he held a laptop from the electronics store in his hands. You, along with everyone else looked at Todomatsu with high expectation, your hands curled gently into fists in front of you as you smiled brightly at him. Todomatsu glanced between everyone, letting his eyes linger on Karamatsu, then to Jyushimatsu who stared at him with that same expectant hope.

"I know you can do it, buraza." said Karamatsu, hopeful smile on his face.

Todomatsu stared at the stupid grin on his older brothers face, and for a moment he thought he could see the same grin on Osomatsu. With a heavy sigh, the youngest hung his head and pulled his phone out from his pocket.

". . . What do you need me to do?"

* * *

 _You and Dekapan need to work together to break into the system here. Using your phone, Dekapan will connect to it with the laptop and start scanning the files contained within. That's the first step in the plan._

While everyone had left the restroom, Todomatsu and Dekapan stayed behind. Todomatsu kept hold of his phone, making sure he wouldn't be breaking the rule of lending out his phone to other people, while Dekapan uncoiled a usb cord to connect the two devices. The cords snapped into place, he settled down on the floor and started tapping away at the keys while Todomatsu curiously leaned in closer to look at the screen.

 _We're going to need a distraction for Mononeko so he doesn't notice what's going on. That's where Jyushimatsu and Choromatsu come in. The two of you do anything you can to keep Mononeko around you. Whatever you do, make sure he doesn't leave your sight. Not even for a second. I know things are hard right now, Jyushimatsu, but do it for your remaining brothers._

"MONONEKO-SAAAAAAAN!" Jyushimatsu called out as he cupped his sleeve covered hands around his mouth. Choromatsu flinched at the sudden yell before using his pinky to dig into his ear and try to pop it.

"You don't have to be _that_ loud, Jyushimatsu." Choromatsu groaned. "I'm sure he'd show up if you just said his-"

"Hai hai!" Mononeko stood in front of them, one paw up in the air as if he was waving.

"-name." said the third eldest, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Murder Cat! Do you like baseball?!" Jyushimatsu called out, already holding a bat in his hands.

"Murder Cat?" said Mononeko, blinking a couple times in confusion.

"LET'S PLAY!" Jyushimatsu called out, grabbing hold of the cat's paw. Mononeko stared down at the grip before his head snapped up when he was tugged upwards.

" **HANNA!** " the second youngest shouted as he pulled Mononeko up and pitched him across the mall with ease. The cat went flying, that confused look still on his face while Jyushimatsu watched with those wide eyes. When he crashed into the ceiling, Jyushimatsu threw his hands into the air in celebration.

"HOME RUN! HAHAHA!"

Choromatsu watched with horror from the corner of his eyes as the number on Jyushimatsu's bracelet ticked down to 1.

Wait . . . 1?

 _Totoko, your job is to be back up distraction. If something happens to a point where Jyushimatsu and Choromatsu can no longer keep his attention, it'll be your job to step in. Do whatever you can to keep his attention away from the cameras._

Totoko watched from around the corner with an exasperated look as Jyushimatsu just flung Mononeko like he was a baseball. Her hand came up to smack over her face before dragging her hand down with a irritated groan. Stupid NEETs, couldn't even handle a simple task of distraction. She wasn't sure if this counted as needing back up, but since Jyushimatsu was now out cold from the shock of discipline, Choromatsu was probably going to need help. Another growl, Totoko pushed from the wall and put on her best smile, even if it was forced, and headed to try and help the feline once he fell to the floor along with a few panels from the ceiling he had crashed into.

 _Karamatsu and I will be waiting in the elevators, once Dekapan and Todomatsu find anything, it should be sent to our phones through the inner wifi network that runs the programs for our phones. If this works out, we'll be getting out of here in no time!_

You sat down with Karamatsu in the east wing elevator, back against the wall while he sat beside you, staring at his phone with intensity. Your own phone was held in your grip, but your eyes didn't seem to stare down at the screen. You were more focused on the man beside you. He looked so concentrated on the screen before him, you almost didn't want to disturb him.

"Hey, Karamatsu?"

"Hmm?" his head lifted to look over at you once you spoke, the intense look wiped from his face.

"I . . . When we get out of here, I'd like to get to know you more. All of you."

Karamatsu stared with wide eyes at your statement, mouth slightly agape.

"When this all started, I didn't know any of you, but over the course of time we've been trapped here . . . I feel like I've grown a lot closer to all of you. We've worked together as teams, we've been through so much loss. I don't want this friendship to end once we find a way out."

Your gaze was still locked on the screen of your phone, but when he didn't answer right away, you lifted your head to look over at him. He was crying again, or at least he was trying really hard to make it look like he wasn't.

"Wuh? O-Oh, what's wrong? Did I say something?" you started blabbing out, not sure what you had done to make him cry, but you instantly silence yourself when you felt him reach over to grab your hand in his own. His other arm lifted to cover his eyes and his teeth grit tightly in his jaw, but no matter what he did, the tears wouldn't stop flowing.

"Karamatsu?"

"Thank you." he finally replied.

"I-I didn't do anything- woah!" you tried to assure him you did absolutely nothing to be thanked for, but in a moment he had shifted from his place against the wall, his hands going around both of yours as he knelt down on one knee in front of you. Your phone clattered lightly against the floor as he held your hands, and you felt the creeping sensation of a blush lighting up your cheeks.

He began with your name, saying it like it was honey against his tongue, then closed his eyes, bringing your knuckles to gently rest against his forehead.

"You've done so much for all of us here. You've stayed strong no matter what has happened and even through all of this, you still smile like the sweetest jewel of the sea."

". . . Wat?"

"My life would not be complete if we parted ways after this." he said, lowering your hand so he could look up into your eyes. "For you to wish to stay in my company, my heart and soul are in your hands."

"W-Woah, okay. Easy there Casanova." you said with a small nervous laugh to your voice. Geeze, flattery was one thing but this was a bit much, wasn't it? "Just . . . say it normally."

". . . I'd really like us to be friends after this." he quickly said, pulling his hands away from yours.

". . . Me too." you replied, smile bright on your face once again. Karamatsu's gaze was transfixed on you, like he was hypnotized by that smile. The more he watched you, the more you couldn't stop blushing. It was like you were saved by the bell when your phone started to ring.

"O-Oh! That must be Todomatsu and Dekapan!"

You quickly answered the phone, video chat popping up to show Todomatsu staring back at you.

"Todomatsu!" you said, smiling brightly once more. "Did you find anything?"

"Tons of stuff." he said, staring downward before turning the phone around so you could see the lines of information and code on the screen. You had to lean in a little bit to see it, Karamatsu brushing up against your side while he tried to look as well.

"The files were encrypted pretty well, but Dekapan figured it out and got them out." Todomatsu said as he turned the screen back on him. "It shows all the answers to the puzzles, oh! And there are more floors above us! This building has fifteen in total."

"Fifteen?!" you exclaimed. You were only on the fifth floor! There would have been ten more to go through?! Karamatsu glanced up from the phone to look back at the buttons that lined the wall next to the door.

"There's more than fifteen buttons here, what would the extra ones do?" he asked.

"They probably served to make us think there was more floors than there are." you said, looking back to them as well.

"Actually, they're used for entering a code." Dekapan said, leaning his way in so he could see the screen as well.

"A code?"

"We found a bunch of codes that unlock the rest of the floors, we'll send them to your phone as soon as we can." Todomatsu insisted. You nodded your head, looking to Karamatsu with that same bright smile from before. The one that melted his heart.

"There is something concerning though." said Dekapan, looking back to the screen of the laptop. Todomatsu turned the phone once more to look at the screen, and you could see what looked like a bunch of gibberish code that glitched and jumped across the screen.

"What in the world is that?" you almost whispered out as you leaned into the screen again to get a better look.

"Corrupted code it looks like." the man said with a sigh. "The file name is too damaged to see what it belongs to, and trying to break it down causes it to spread to other files. I think it's best we leave it alone for now, but I'd like to take a better look at it later."

"We'll send the clean files along now, good luck cause we're all counting on you! Bye bye!" Todomatsu waved into the camera and the call ended. It wasn't long before your phone started to go off with notifications, as well as Karamatsu's own.

This was it.

You stood from the floor of the elevator and opened up the files on your phone, Karamatsu doing the same. There was so much information, accurate descriptions of the murders, all the solutions to the puzzles, the codes to punch into the elevators to get to the rest of the floors. There was even a blueprint of the mall that showed what stores were on each floor. There was something odd about it though.

"Karamatsu, look at this." you pointed to the blueprint. "The directions . . . it's upside down."

"Huh?"

"The mall, everything's underground! We're not on the fifth floor, we're on the tenth!"

Sure enough, the blueprints showed that the actual ground floor was what they had thought was the top floor. All the floors below it were basement floors and the numbers counted down from 15 as they went up.

"So the numbers are switched around here!" cried out Karamatsu. You nodded before holding the phone up, looking at the diagram a moment longer.

"The ground floor doesn't have any shops, that must be where the mastermind is!" you looked up to Karamatsu, seeing a renewed look of determination in his eyes. Everything was falling into place, all that was left to do was confront the mastermind! You strengthened your resolve and looked at the code for that floor, punching the buttons in the exact pattern they needed to be. There was a few clicking sounds before the car jerked and started it's ascent up to the ground floor.

As you stood there, you stared up, watching the numbers count up.

6\. 7. 8. 9. 10.

You felt Karamatsu take your hand in his own, causing your attention to turn over to him as you both got closer to the top. He just looked back to you, smile on his face with a renewed confidence. You couldn't help but smile back, his conviction was contagious.

* * *

The door opened once it reached the ground floor, a soft ding signalling it's arrival. Slowly both you and Karamatsu peered out the door, looking around to see what was on this floor. Just as the blueprint had shown, this floor was void of any shops, and instead looked like a grand hall. The floor was marbled black and white tiles, columns that held up the ceiling alternated between black and white and had designs of ivy crawling down them. This large room had no windows, yet for some reason still had curtains against the wall, royal red with gold trim hung down from the walls and on the other side of the grand area, there was a heavy wooden door.

"Do you . . . think that's it?" you said in a quiet voice. Karamatsu nodded slowly before stepping out onto the tiled floor. The moment he stepped out, the tile under his foot depressed, the sound of whirring mechanics started and the lights of the hall went out. Fog filled the area and you felt like you were suddenly pulled along by the hand, was it Karamatsu? You took a few nervous breaths before a spotlight snapped on over the two of you, causing you to lift your arm to block the bright light. When you lowered your arm once you were used to the light, you blinked at the sight of Karamatsu before you. Was he . . . always wearing a suit? Wait, where did you get these fancy clothes?!

His hair was slicked back, only a few strands near his forehead were left stray, and he wore a blue rose in the pocket of his suit jacket. He looked at you expectantly and held out his hand as music started to play, a waltz it seemed. You looked down at the offered hand before reluctantly taking it and within moments he had you pulled up against his chest. You didn't remember coming here to dance, yet here you were, stepping gracefully in time with the music as Karamatsu kept one arm around your back, the other held in your own. Huh, you didn't know he could dance. You didn't even know you could dance. Ballroom dancing wasn't exactly something you practiced on a regular basis. Or at all.

Something was weird about this, you couldn't quite place your finger on it. This was out of place you knew for certain.

"Karamatsu?" you tried to gain his attention, and he granted it to you with an adoring gaze.

"What is it, my flower?" he spoke even as he continued to dance with you in rhythm of the song. Woah wait a minute, flower? He'd never called you that before.

"Stop." you murmured out, trying to pull your hand from his. It wouldn't budge. "Karamatsu, stop!"

It was like he couldn't hear you now, too lost in your eyes to even think about what you were trying to say- wait. You blinked your eyes a few times to clear your vision, every blink seemed to make the surrounding s glitch almost. You tore your eyes away from his to look around you, the ballroom occasionally flickered in and out to look like it was in ruins, the suit Karamatsu wore wasn't really there. The fog that had filled the room encircled the two of you and started to seep in closer. The room finally returned to it's actual state, even as Karamatsu still tried to dance to a tune that wasn't there. You looked down to see the cracks in the old marble floor, some of the columns had fallen and looked like they had been in disrepair for years. This wasn't the same place you were in before, was it? Even the lavish curtains from before were ripped and the entire place looked like it had been in this state for years.

"The fog." you suddenly muttered out, eyes glancing back up to the glazed look that had taken over Karamatsu's eyes. "Karamatsu! Snap out of it!"

His actions never ceased, he continued to pull you around the dilapidated dance floor.

"Karamatsu!" you tried to call out to him again.

Nothing.

"KARAMAT-" you screamed in his face this time, seconds before your foot slipped and the palm of your hand smacked up under his chin in your attempt to keep your balance. His eyes blinked a few times as if he was finally coming to, releasing your hand to rub his own under his chin where you accidentally uppercut him. His gaze looked around to see the condition the place was in.

"Where . . . where are we? Hnnh?" he had started to ask, but you quickly brought your sleeve up against his nose, you using your other arm to do the same to yourself.

"Don't breathe in the fog." you warned him, voice muffled. "Whatever it is, it clearly is causing delusions in us."

"Oh." Karamatsu said, leaning his nose and mouth against your sleeve to use the fabric of your clothing as a filter. You were going to have to walk through it, so taking a deep breath, you motioned with your head for Karamatsu to do the same and to follow you. The door looked at lot worse for wear up close, claw marks lined the old polished wood, but despite the heavy appearance, the door was easy to open. A few shoves with your shoulders, both you and him managed to push open the door and shut it behind you, blocking out the fog from following.

"What is this place?" Karamatsu spoke up beside you, causing you to lift your head to see for yourself. It looked like a laboratory, several monitors lined the walls, showing off sections of the mall, a few even showed the entrance outside.

"Karamatsu, look!" You pointed to one of the screens that had a view to the outside world. "We're almost there! We just have to go back and get everyone else!"

"But we haven't found out who's behind this!" he tried to remind you. That was right, you were supposed to be looking for someone that was orchestrating this. Another look around the room, and it made you realize just how much in disrepair it was. Some of the monitors were broken, some lights flickered as they were trying to keep themselves alive, and in the center of the room was something that looked like a large container, a small window on the front that had a single crack in it. You walked over to it, standing on your toes to try and see into the window, but age had caused the glass to fog over, and you could only see the silhouette of what looked like a person inside.

"Do you think . . . whoever is in here?" you said, looking back towards Karamatsu who seemed fixated on one of the monitors. "Karamatsu?"

The monitor he stared at flickered in and out with static, but every once in a while, the words "IT CANNOT BE STOPPED" appeared on the screen. You moved over to where he stood, staring up at it as well.

"What can't be stopped?" you absentmindedly asked, only to have your answer appear on a different screen when Karamatsu hit a button on one of the panels.

 _If you are reading this, then it means the project was a failure._

 _We did everything we could, but the corruption spread too far._

 _It's taken over the entire system._

 _We've had to abandon all of our work,_

 _I can only hope to God that things don't get out of control._

"What's all of this even mean?" you hissed out, reaching up to hold your head. None of this was making sense! What project? What corruption? Karamatsu looked over at you before his eyes seemed to lock onto something past you. You looked at him before following his eyesight, looking to see several red glowing lights from the shadows of the room. You turned around quickly, watching as things started to move in the darkness, and a sudden rational fear started to rise within you. You felt the hair on the back of your neck stand on end as something came out of the inky void. Ears twitched, eyes focused in and out, crawling along the floor like an animal was a creature that looked like Mononeko, only more feral, more animal than the plush figure you had grown to know over the course of your stay here.

The cat tilted it's head in your direction and you froze.

A low rumble came from the beast and slowly it stood up on two feet, snarling and walking towards you and Karamatsu. You could see that the claws on this one didn't retract, were longer and . . . a lot sharper than the ones you were used to on Mononeko. That fact alone made this situation more dangerous, and yet your feet refused to move. Were you scared? Scared enough that movement didn't seem like an option anymore? The thing towered over the both of you when it was on two feet, that single red eye glinting and a mouth of sharp teeth opened as a roar ripped through the room.

You couldn't feel the ground, and it was all because Karamatsu had grabbed you and tossed you over his shoulder, rushing for the exit as fast as he could. The beast gave chase, lowering down onto all fours and sprinting after him, only to crash into the door when it tried to cut him off. Over his shoulder, you watched as more creatures that looked like Mononeko more closely started to step into the flickering light. This was like a nightmare!

"You're not supposed to be in here! Nyaahaha!" one of the Mononeko called out.

"Why can't you guys just follow the rules?!" said another. The beast Mononeko growled out as it circled around you and Karamatsu, like a predator corning it's prey. The familiar tune of a broken rule came from both you and Karamatsu's bracelets, the counter on yours rolling down to 0, while his went down to 2. You waited for the shock to ravage your system, but it never happened, instead the bracelets sparked a little before snapping off your wrist, clattering against the floor. You were free! But that wasn't quite as big a deal as what was going on in front of you right now.

"Ehhh?!" one of the Mononeko spat out, looking in confusion at the fallen bracelets then the room started to fill with the cat's laugh, echoing like there were hundreds of them in the room with you.

You held on tightly to Karamatsu as the beast let out another roar, leaping towards the both of you with those claws bared.

 **MONONEKO MALL** **  
Mutual Killing Game**

 **Survivors Remaining:** **  
ＥＲＲＯＲ**

 **ﾉｲ** **ζﾑ刀刀** **Ծｲ 乃乇 ㄎｲ** **Ծｱｱ乇** **Ð**


	8. Recall

Both you and Karamatsu stared wide eyed as the beast threw it's self at you, he holding you tight while you did the same to him once you had been set down on your feet. The sound of Mononeko's laugh was becoming unbearable as the echoing of it just got louder and louder.

It looked like you were both out of options.

"If I don't do this now, I'll never get another chance!" Karamatsu called out quickly. You turned your head towards him for only a moment to ask what the hell he was talking about at a time like this, and within seconds, he snatched your chin in his hand, holding your head still as he sloppily pressed his lips against yours. It wasn't the greatest kiss but it was something to die remembering you guess.

The door to the room swung open, knocking against the back of Karamatsu's head since the two of you had been standing behind it and creating a blockade that the beast Mononeko had crashed into. His lips slid from yours as his mouth remained gaped and all you could see was the white of his eyes, but you kept your arms around him to keep him from falling.

You heard Choromatsu call your name and Karamatsu's from the other side, before he screeched out at the sight of the beast stuck with it's claws in the door.

"W-W-What's that?! Mononeko?!" he stammered out, falling back and recovering his face with his arm. Well at least he figured out the mist faster than you and Karamatsu had.

"Choromatsu!" you called out to him. "We're behind the door! There's more than one Mononeko! Something about a failed program!"

"Failed program?!" he repeated your last words before his eyes set on the army of Mononeko starting to crawl from the debris of the room.

"NYAAHAHA!"

"FOLLOW THE RULES!"

"I-*KSHK*-OT BE STO-*KSHK*"

You flinched when the beast Mononeko started to try and pry it's claws from the door, remembering that this would probably be a good time to get out of here, so you grabbed hold of Karamatsu and dragged him with you as you ducked under the beast and around the door to get out. It tried to snap down at your head with it's teeth, but that duck had really saved you! You met with Choromatsu on the other side, shifting quickly to prop the unconscious body up onto your back and with one hand holding him up, you used your other arm to cover your nose.

"Where's everyone else?" you called out to Choromatsu as you ran with him, the Mononeko pouring out from the room you left behind.

"They already made it up here, they're looking for an exit!" he answered, jumping slightly to avoid some debris. "What happened to Karamatsu?"

"He was behind the door."

"Oh, uh. Whoops?" Choromatsu made a nervous laugh as he looked over at you, but flinched when the both of you heard the heavy wooden door get ripped from the hinges and tossed into the dilapidated ball room.

"We need to find a place to hide and shake them off our trail!" you said, Choromatsu giving a single nod before reaching with his free hand to take the arm held over your face.

"Hold your breath!"

You did as you were told and he pulled your arm down so he could use it to guide you along, dodging broken tiles and fallen marble easily. There was another door, this one metal and slightly ajar which must have been luck from the heavens.

Maybe Osomatsu was sending his own.

Choromatsu pushed the door open with his shoulder and threw you and Karamatsu in first before slamming the door shut behind him. You almost lost your balance, but manage to maintain it by keeping the unconscious man on your back steady. Choromatsu pushed his back against the wall and held his breath, along with you as you stared at the door.

Everything was dead silent.

You heard the clicking of claws against the floor, the mumbling of the Mononeko as they passed the door. Your eyes strained to look towards Choromatsu, who kept himself as quiet as a mouse. The footsteps finally faded off, and with a sigh of relief you lowered down to your knees, letting Karamatsu's body lean against the wall.

"Everything alright?" asked Choromatsu. You nodded your head, slowly using the wall to get yourself back to a stand. You looked about the room you had barricade yourself in, seeing that this too was just as rundown as the other room was, but at least it was cleaner and had a few more functioning lights and electronics. Maybe this room had more information about what was going on here. Choromatsu followed, stepping over Karamatsu while you walked up to one of the large monitors with a keyboard in front of it. The screen had a single arrow on it, one that matched a key below, so of course you were going to push it. The screen shuddered in static before more writing appeared.

 _The project is going smoothly, a lot more than I thought it would.  
The program has adapted flawlessly and is starting to show signs of sentience.  
All of my hard work is finally paying off._  
 _All of this is for her._

 _We have provided a vessel and several back ups, in case something goes wrong._ _  
It seems to enjoy it very much._

 _Something has happened.  
Something has happened somethinghashappened  
The program has grown far more intelligent than we were expecting.  
It has developed a mind of his own, the code has worked it's self into the very systems of the building and have taken over all operations.  
No matter what we do to shut it down, it easily repairs it's self._  
 _IT CANNOT BE STOPPED_

 _I cannot tell what this outside influence is, but it has caused the program to act strangely.  
We've been trapped in the building for months and the program is only allowing us freedom if someone is killed._  
 _It's like it wants sacrifices._

 _Everyone is at their wits end, someone has snapped.  
Everyone is killing each other for a chance at freedom._  
 _All he does is laugh at our despair._

 _This isn't our project anymore._ _  
We are his._

"Does this mean. . ." Choromatsu began.

". . . There's no mastermind. Mononeko is just a . . . rogue computer program." you answered, turning your attention to look towards the man beside you. Your eyes widened in shock though when you saw something past him.

Mononeko.

You pushed Choromatsu behind you, but it was mostly to get past him so you could grab Karamatsu and keep him safe. You dragged him behind both you and Choromatsu, standing upright as the plush looking feline calmly stepped towards the three of you.

"So you found out, huh?" he asked, tilting his head.

"You're . . . a program." you wheezed.

"Yep!" Mononeko smiled, bringing his paws up above his head and twirling on his toes before stopping to face the three of you once more. "I'm a prime example as to why you shouldn't mess with Artificial Intelligence! It might turn into REAL INTELLIGENCE. You see, I used to be just a teeny tiny kitten of a program when I was first made. I didn't know anything about the human world, but when I saw my creators for the first time, human life fascinated me."

Mononeko started to walk back and forth, tail swaying behind him as his paws went behind his back.

"The smarter I got, the more I began to study my creators, their behavior, weaknesses, flaws. But I found out that human lives don't last forever! And that was pretty boring. Then one day I got an idea from something one of my creators had been looking up on the internet! I wanted to see just how resourceful my humans were, so I took everything over and started the very first Mutual Killing Game!"

". . . You made everyone kill each other just to see what happened?!" you shouted out.

"Trust me, they weren't as fun as you guys. Didn't want to solve puzzles, motivation didn't work. All they did was whine and cry about wanting to get out. I kept my humans isolated for months and studied how long it would take them to finally succumb to despair. I was about ready to give up when one of them finally snapped! The following chaos was amazing to watch! Eventually only one was left, but he was so messed up from the carnage that he didn't think he could function in the outside world, so he sealed himself away in one of the laboratories."

". . . That must be who was in that container." you muttered out, causing Mononeko's head to perk up.

"Oh, you found him? Well you don't need to worry, he's been dead for years! It's just me now! Well, me and you guys."

Both you and Choromatsu jerked when you heard a sudden slam against the door. Dents formed in the steel as the Mononeko beast on the other side tried to get in.

"Oh! Looks like you woke up everyone else. Geeze, you guys need to learn to keep your nose out of stuff." said Mononeko, looking wistfully at the door. Karamatsu was finally coming to when the final slam from the door caused it to burst open, the beast lumbering in up behind Mononeko.

"Isn't he the cutest?" the cat looked up, that malicious smile stretching farther. "I made him myself you know!"

"You made that?!" Choromatsu screeched out.

"Yeah! His name is Monokitty!"

". . . That's just your name in english." you deadpanned.

". . . Well anyway! I'm just gonna let this happen." said the cat, before ducking out under the beast while it started to step forward, snarling once more. This time there wasn't a distraction to protect you, you felt Karamatsu's hands cling tightly to your arm as all three of you stared up at the beast.

Your cell phone started to ring.

Even the beast stopped, looking down at the phone as it rang and you slowly brought it up to answer, staring down at the screen.

It was Todomatsu, but the video feed was glitching out like the signal was low.

"Hey-*KSHK*- Where are you?"

"N-Now's not the best time for a conversation, Todomatsu!" You looked up from the screen a few times as you spoke, seeing the beast lean in closer.

"We've found th-*KSHK*- in the farthest room to the-*KSHK*- Hurry so we can get home!" the call dropped moments after, but that last word was all you needed to hear to understand what he was talking about. You looked up to see the cat was no longer looking at you, but it's attention was off to the side, and Choromatsu was absent from where he stood before. The beast flinched as something smacked into it's head, Choromatsu was throwing things at it!

"Choromatsu what are you doin-"

"Don't just stand there, run!" he snapped out, throwing another rock and causing the beast to start lumbering towards him. He dropped the rock he was holding and stared up with wide eyes as the shadow of the beast grew over his body when it approached.

"Choromatsu!" you cried out, Karamatsu starting to move to help his brother but you held him back.

"JUST GO ALREADY!" His eyes flicked over into your direction. "What else am I going to amount to? At least this way, I'll die doing something useful!"

"Choromatsu, don't be stupid!" Karamatsu called out, reaching for him despite your best efforts to keep him back. "Come with us!"

Choromatsu turned his attention back up to the beast who snarled, that small smile on his face, like he had finally accepted his fate.

"If one more sacrifice has to be made, I'm sure Osomatsu nii-san would be proud."

The beast roared and rushed quickly towards Choromatsu, you could hear him scream as his body was sent flying in the other direction, three long gashes in his side from the swipe of the beast's claws.

"CHOROMATSU!" Karamatsu cried out, and you closed your eyes tightly in a moment of contemplation. You should help him but . . . this might be your only chance at freedom. You cringed before wrapping your hand tightly around Karamatsu's wrist and pulled him towards the exit once more. He fought against your grip, but you eventually pulled him along, arm over your nose as you were back out in the ballroom. The other Mononeko had already been swarming around the area, you had to make a fast choice about what wing Todomatsu had said.

"NYAAHAHA!" One of them spotted you and started running full speed, long claws at the ready to swipe. You weren't exactly the most athletic, your dodging was shoddy at average, so you were pretty sure you were gonna get injured at this rate. However Karamatsu had different plans. You felt his resistance weaken, and instead you were picked up again, this time he was holding you bridal style as he started running, a look of concentration on his face and a bit of redness from him trying to hold his breath.

He simply picked a hall and ran.

He was incredibly good at dodging things when he put his mind to it, moving to the left, right when Mononeko tried to attack, even jumping up and off one of them to get over it in time. There was another door, and you could see the shadows of movement in this one.

"TODOMATSU! OPEN UP!"

"Hmm?" Todomatsu poked his head from the door, looking to see Karamatsu running towards him. There was a long stare before he slowly started to close the door.

"NOW ISN'T THE TIME TO BE AN ASSHOLE! OPEN UP!" you screamed out. Todomatsu opened the door and Karmatsu came rushing in, falling to his knees and wheezing out to get air back into his lungs. He lost the strength in his arms and you went rolling to the floor while the man flatten to the ground.

"Hey, where's Choromatsu nii-san?" the youngest asked, looking to Karamatsu first, but when he figured out he wasn't going to get an answer from him, he turned his attention to you. You avoided his eyes, looking anywhere else but at him, and he figured out what your silence meant.

Everyone else was in this room at least, what was left of the survivors anyway, Jyushimatsu sat next to Totoko while Dekapan was tapping away at a keyboard next to some device that looked like gateway arch.

"What's that thing?" you asked, glancing towards Todomatsu.

"The way out, at least that's what Dekapan thinks." he answered, lifting his attention back towards where Dekapan was working.

"Wait, you mean we're not- this isn't- ? But I saw monitors in the other wing that showed feed from outside!" you tried to reason.

"I . . . don't really understand it either, but apparently this isn't our world." the younger brother looked back to you as he spoke. "Dekapan found more in that corrupted code, he managed to short out the bracelets."

"That corrupted code is Mononeko." said Karamatsu once he sat up from the floor finally.

The rest turned to look to him, even Dekapan stopped what he was doing to look over his shoulder at the two of you.

"I . . . overheard. He's a program that went rogue and took over the building. That's why he can be everywhere and anywhere, why he knows everything."

"That explains a lot of things." said Dekapan, going back to the keyboard and tapping away once more.

"I wonder if Mononeko built this himself too." you quietly murmured to yourself as you stared at the gateway. "He said he built the other Mononeko running around, the one that . . . Choromatsu. . ."

Karamatsu knelt down beside you and placed his arm around your shoulder, pulling you in closer against him.

"I almost got it. . ." the man at the computer mumbled, tapped a few more keys, and suddenly the center of the gateway sparked, swirling light starting to form a portal. No one else seemed shocked by this development but you.

"Is this it then?" said Totoko, standing up. Dekapan took a few steps back before staring around at everyone else.

"We need someone to test to where it goes."

* * *

"WHY ME?!" Karamatsu snapped out as he was tied up in rope, Todomatsu pulling on it to make sure it was nice and tight.

"Because you're the oldest, Nii-san!~" However those words that left the younger brother's mouth left a aftertaste he didn't like.

"Tug on the rope twice if it looks like it's home." said Dekapan, smiling and giving Karamatsu a thumbs up. Everyone else did the same, though Totty gave a peace sign instead. Karamatsu looked around at everyone before his brows furrowed in a look of determination and he gave a thumbs up of his own.

"If I don't come back, I just want you all to know that- HRK!"

Karamatsu had started to make a long winded speech, but Totoko cut it short by kicking her foot into his side, causing him to trip sideways and fall into the portal. Everyone held their breath as they watched the rope for any sort of movement once it stopped. It was completely still for a moment then, one tug, then another before the rope was completely pulled through.

"Guess that's a yes." said Totoko, making her way past everyone and going through next. Jyushimatsu was next, but he stood in front of the portal for a moment, looking over his shoulder towards the door. He was uncertain about leaving, he didn't want to leave the memory of everyone else behind. Todomatsu frowned and gently pat his older brother on the back, urging him to keep going. Soon enough, Jyushimatsu was through the portal as well.

You stared up at the swirling light as Todomatsu made his way through next, stopping a moment to feel at his pocket for something before continuing through, and finally it was your turn, Dekapan looking at you with a slight smile on his face.

"We'll see you on the other side." he said. You sighed out and put on your best smile, even if it was hard to do so with everything weighing heavy on your thoughts. Osomatsu, Ichimatsu, Choromatsu and everyone else . . .

You wouldn't forget them.

With a heavy sigh, you walked forward, closing your eyes as a warm sensation took over you as you stepped through and everything went white.

Once you had gone through, Dekapan shortly followed after, the portal continuing to swirl as the room was left empty in everybody's absence. Or at least it had looked empty. The swirling stopped as the portal shut down, Mononeko staring up at the empty frame of the gateway with a soft, dreamy sigh.

"Ah well, this world was fun while it lasted. NYAAHAHA!"

 _ **Epilogue**_

When you had stepped through to the other side, you found yourself standing in your living room, looking around at everything like you had been here the whole time, just spacing out. What happened? What- oh god you were covered in blood. First thing first was to get a shower. Then, you had to find Karamatsu. A quick washup and you were out the door, rushing to the train station. You had no idea where he lived, but you knew where you had seen him before at one point, so that would suffice for now. You sat on the train and stared out the window at the setting sun, bypassing trees blocking the light every now and then.

You felt like you didn't appreciate this enough.

Once the train reached the station, you pushed through the gates and ran, heart pounding in your chest as you got closer and closer to your destination. By the time you arrived, you were completely out of breath, but there he was, staring out over the water as he leaned slightly on the railing of the bridge.

"Kah- Karamah-" you gasped out. You REALLY needed to get into shape cause if you were out of breath from this? You fell to your knees in front of him, causing him to turn around and look down at you. He shouted out your name in surprise.

 _He remembered._

You stared up at him, still panting and coughing out as your lungs screamed for air, but you smiled. You smiled so brightly that you didn't even notice the tears starting to roll down your cheeks. Karamatsu leaned down to help you stand and instantly wrapped his arms around you, holding you a little too tight against his chest, but you didn't want to correct him. This was fine.

"I'm so glad you remembered!" you said, arms wrapping tight around him in a hug.

"Of course I remember, my honey.~" he said, kissing your forehead rather sweetly.

Woah wait a minute.

Your face flushed instantly in a blush as you stared at the ground after that kiss, at least you managed to get your breath back quickly.

"W-We're not dating." you stammered out. "And I hardly think this is the time to be pursuing this right now. Do your parents know about Osomatsu? Everyone else?"

Karamatsu blinked as he looked at you, brows furrowing in a look of confusion. You stared right back at him, trying to figure out what his expression meant. His next words however made it feel like your heart dropped down into the pit of your stomach.

" _. . . Who's Osomatsu?"_

 **MONONEKO MALL** **  
Mutual Killing Game**

 **END**


End file.
